Fairies, Misfits & Little Brats
by Amenah
Summary: The day a reckless pink-haired idiot gives Lucy a concussion is the day her life changes forever; before she knows it, she's thrust into a world full of charismatic friends and villains alike. Welcome to the cosy insanity of Fairy Tail, home of outsiders. And you know what? For the first time in her life, Lucy feels like she actually belongs, misfit and all. AU, numerous pairings.
1. Morning, Princess

**Disclaimer:** Speaks for itself, doesn't it? Fairy Tail is Hiro Mashima's brainchild - I just enjoy playing with it. Come on, it's _fanfiction_.

**Pairings:** The focus will be on NATSU x LUCY, but I'm one of those writers who can't handle not giving every character a happy ending in some form. -.- If I ship them, you'll probably see them sooner or later.

**Rated T:** For all sorts of things including swearing and suggestive themes. Who knows what else I'll throw in here?

**AN:** So I've finally gotten round to posting this up. *nervous* A few tidbits you may like to know before diving in are that I write in British English, this piece is probably going to be a multi-chapter monster, and I'm already overly-attached to it. It's going to move in 'arcs' (similar to Fairy Tail itself) but unlike the original, there's one big bad underlying plot that I hope will create a dramaticish finale (which is _ages_ away. I'm not exaggerating when I say that this is likely going to end up a _really_ long piece haha).

Anyway, enough talk about endings - this is the first chapter! I hope you have as much fun reading it as I did writing, & I'll try get the next chapter to you soon. Enjoy! (yes, that was a command.)

* * *

_**Fairies, Misfits & Little Brats**_ by Amenah

**1 - Morning, Princess**

* * *

_5__th__ June 2012_

The first thing I'm aware of when I come back to consciousness is that my head is trying its hardest to _explode_. What the hell happened last night?

I can't even muster the energy to groan, so I just lie still for a bit and wallow in self-pity, trying my hardest to ignore my skull-splitting headache. Is this really what a hangover feels like?

Doing my best to not panic over the fact that I may or may not have gotten wasted for the first time in my life, I screw my eyes shut, trying my hardest to remember – the fact that everything isn't clear makes me wonder just how much alcohol I consumed.

Ugh, alcohol.

The thought alone makes my stomach flip and I feel myself tense reflexively, trying to quell the sudden urge to throw up. It takes a few moments for me to become aware of the muscled arm draped across my waist, of the warm legs that mine are entangled with, of the heat that seems to be enveloping me-

Oh, God, no.

My eyes snap open to be met with a chest – a hard, toned, _muscular_ chest.

Fuck.

I keep my gaze locked on the tan skin in front of me, too busy screaming at myself mentally to assess the situation, and too scared to look up for fear of finding out who on earth the owner of the obviously masculine chest is.

What the hell_ happened_ last night!?

* ~ [**FMLB**] ~ *

"_Lucy! Lucy, I _will_ leave without you if you don't hurry up!" The impatient whine in Gray's voice makes me grin. We're hardly late enough for him to be making such a fuss about it._

"_I'm coming, I'm coming!" I call through the open door of my bedroom, hastily stuffing whatever's in arm's reach into my purse and hoping that my phone, house-keys and wallet magically get caught up in between all the crap._

_Glancing at the mirror one last time, I note with a smile that I genuinely look _good_: my blonde hair – meticulously straightened – is tied up with a cute blue ribbon in my signature style; my silver sequined top glitters under the shine of my bedroom light; the light coat of eyeliner I took ten minutes applying accentuates my eyes just perfectly._

_I look _hot_ tonight, thank you very much._

"_Lucy!"_

_Gray's angry voice snaps me from my narcissistic reverie; I grab my purse and jacket from my bed and run out the room._

_My twin brother's standing at the front door tapping his foot impatiently and checking the time on his phone. He glances up when he hears me, and makes gestures with his arms as if to say 'hurry it up'. I giggle as I rush down the stairs._

"_Okay, I'm ready!" I affirm, turning a full three-sixty when I reach the foot of the staircase and meeting his amused smirk with a wink. "Looking good, right?"_

_It's his turn to chuckle. "Sure," he says playfully, holding the front door open behind him. "Took you long enough. Now would you _please_ leave the house?"_

_I roll my eyes but skip through the doorway anyway, hearing the click of the lock as he exits behind me. The honk of a horn greets me, and I feel my face stretch into a grin at the sight of the worn-down black pickup truck. A tune with a deep beat plays obnoxiously through the rolled-down windows, and I see the hand of the driver beckoning me._

* ~ [**FMLB**] ~ *

I'm brought back from my daydream as another wave of nausea rolls through me, and I squeeze my eyes shut in an attempt to push it away.

Oh, God... My head is _throbbing_. Holy hell.

I'm sure I couldn't have drunk enough for it to hurt so badly, especially considering last night is coming back to me a lot easier than it should to a girl who was absolutely hammered. Then again, I wasn't exactly drinking on the way there, was I?

But still, I just can't believe I got drunk for the first time in my life! To be honest, I don't know whether to be proud or mortified...

Maybe I'm just making too big a deal of it. Lucy Heartfilia got drunk; no big deal, right? Every seventeen year old is allowed to get drunk, right? But what if I broke my liver? What if I _killed_ someone? What if I spilled my deepest darkest secrets to a stranger!? Gray's always telling me that getting drunk will only lead to situations that I'll regret.

Well, I can vouch for that; the evidence is currently snuggling my body to his and happily snoring away.

I take a deep breath to steady myself whilst trying my best to not wake the boy hugging me to his body a bit too tightly for my liking – I can feel his (admittedly firm) abdomen rise and fall steadily, feel the heat of his breath in my hair as he exhales. I can even smell his scent; it's a combination of musk and... spice, I think.

All of a sudden, the arm around me tightens, pulling me closer to the chest of my mystery sleeping-partner; before I have the chance to panic, he breathes in deeply, sighs in his sleep, and goes back to his slumber with another tense of his arm.

I keep my eyes screwed shut, not daring to look.

Thank God I'm wearing clothes. That's something at least.

* ~ [**FMLB**] ~ *

"_Hey!" I laugh at the excited faces of my friends inside, running around the monster of a vehicle to my usual spot behind the passenger's seat. Gray's not far behind me, and as soon as he enthusiastically slams the door shut behind him, we're off._

"_Hey, guys! Lu-chan, you look great!" I hear a high-pitched squeal from the passenger's seat; a powder-blue head is just visible over the headrest, small hands resting on the shoulders. She reaches behind her and turns the music off._

"_Levy," I smile."You okay? Pumped for tonight?"_

_She responds by poking her head to the side of the seat to give me a wide-eyed grin. "You bet," she smirks. "I've got my secret plan, so I'm all set. It's gonna be great!"_

"_Levy, f-face the front!" Levy ignores my questioning look, instead following the panicked order of her older sister, of whom I can only see hands which are clutching the steering wheel tightly. I'm not surprised at all though – when does Levy _not _have a plan? The girl thrives on the order than comes with organisation._

_The cobalt-haired boy sitting between me and Gray pokes my arm. "Levy's right, Lucy. You look awesome."_

_I turn to give the middle sibling a smug smile. "I know," I say in a self-satisfied voice._

"_Modest as ever, Lucy," Gray cuts in sarcastically._

_I lean across and shoot him a light glare. "If Jellal says it, then it's got to be true. Quit your whining."_

"_He's only agreeing with Levy because it's the brotherly thing to do, you know."_

"_Maybe you should take a page out of his book," I quip, giving him a challenging look. He laughs at my expression, also leaning in so we're both stuck in a scowling contest over our friend's torso._

"_Uh, guys," Jellal interjects in an uncomfortable voice. "Unwilling middle man here."_

_I look up at Jellal's anxious face and giggle at his serious expression. "Calm down, we're not fighting. Gray loves me too much to be nasty to his adorable baby sister," I coo, laughing when said brother leans back, his scowl deepening. "Aw, Gway, don't you wuv me?"_

"_Lucy," Jellal says, worried. "Don't tease the gu-"_

_A loud bang cuts him off, and we all jump before turning in unison to stare at the driver questioningly; the car shudders for a second before starting up again and trundling along._

"_Uh... Juvia?" Jellal asks the driver, who keeps suspiciously silent, her cerulean curls shaking in what looks like concealed laughter._

"_My fault, guys," Levy confesses. "I was working on it with Jellal earlier today, but the stupid thing" – she ignores Jellal's irritated "Hey!" – "has a mind of its own."_

"_Don't insult Pantherlily, he's a brilliant car!" the middle sibling pipes up in a moment of uncharacteristic indignation._

"_Juvia finds it amusing that Jellal calls his car a _he_," Juvia giggles, her voice sweet even when making fun of her younger brother._

_I see Gray shake his head in disbelief out of the corner of my eye, chuckling at Juvia's expense. "But the fact that you refer to yourself in the third person is perfectly normal."_

_I smirk as she tries her best to mask the reddening of her cheeks behind a determined expression. "J-Juvia thinks Gray-sama should worry about keeping his clothes on tonight and leave Juvia's speech alone," she mutters, her eyes locked to the road._

_I giggle along with Levy at Juvia's blatant jealousy as Gray sits up and attempts to catch the older girl's attention in the rear-view mirror. "What's that supposed to mean? I don't sleep around!"_

"_Guys, I really don't think you should fight," Jellal mumbles weakly, getting ignored by the two of them._

"_J-Juvia doesn't mean that!" she squeals anxiously, overreacting to Gray as usual._

"_What, so you think I'll just bed the first girl I see? I'm not some-"_

"_That's not what Juvia meant! It's just that G-Gray-sama would-..." She trails off stupidly, looking stricken._

_There's an awkward silence as a clueless Gray looks around at our knowing expressions._

"_Strip," I supply happily. Jellal throws me an exasperated look as Gray splutters and Juvia launches into a heartfelt apology. "Well, it's true," I defend myself, sticking my tongue out at the irritated blunette. "Time and place mean nothing to the weirdo; it's why so many people are always trying to pick a fight with him, you know. It's just as well he's got a cool head..." I pause, glancing back at him. "Most of the time."_

_Jellal is about to answer when he realises that Gray and Juvia are still going at it, the latter paying more attention to the former than the steering wheel. "Juvia, watch the road!"_

_She ignores him, looking pleadingly at Gray's reflection in the rear-view mirror. "Gray-sama, Juvia is sorry! She shouldn't have said anything!"_

_Gray settles for glaring at the back of her seat broodingly. "You all treat me like I'm some crazy nudist."_

_I roll my eyes as Juvia sets off into another stumbling apology and Jellal panics even more about our current safety. Levy is uncharacteristically silent, but a glance at her grinning face going to and fro between Juvia and Jellal tells me she's just enjoying how flustered Gray can get them._

_I smirk, leaning back in my seat and closing my eyes. The night breeze coming through the open window feels lovely and I realise with surprise that I haven't been in this good a mood for a while._

_Another even louder _bang_ from the exhaust pipe startles me from my thoughts and shuts everyone up._

_A grating sound follows, and my heart drops. Oh no. Oh no, oh no, please no! I mentally beg Pantherlily to keep moving, but despite my hardest prayers, I see the buildings slow in their passing as the truck drives to a halt, giving up on us entirely._

_This cannot be happening._

* ~ [**FMLB**] ~ *

After that, the memories fly back to me at breakneck speed: the breakdown; Levy and Jellal absolutely clueless as to what to do as Gray, Juvia and I sat dumbstruck in the truck; a humiliated Levy calling some guy from her weekend mechanics course to come help – what was his name again?

I struggle to remember who it was that Levy had called, recalling her bad mood and numerous curses as she dialled the number. Shit, did she call...?

Oh my God. Levy actually had to call _him_.

Oh, my God.

* ~ [**FMLB**] ~ *

"_Did he finally call back?" I ask a scowling Levy as she clambers back into the car. She glances back at me, gives me a curt nod, and goes back to glowering at the dashboard._

_We sit in an awkward silence, waiting for more information from the raging girl. Even Gray has the common sense to keep his mouth closed. She takes her time, but I see the frustration force her to breaking point, and eventually she turns to me with a deep breath, looking ready to murder someone._

"_The nerve of that douche-bag!" she cries furiously, digging her hands into her hair. "He doesn't bother answer the first two times, and when he finally calls me back, he spends the first minute just laughing at me. And when I told him where we were, he said he couldn't be bothered! And then he was all, can you do nothing right, 'shrimp'?" – she starts making quotation marks in the air– "and when I told him we really needed his help, he was like 'Nah, I'm hanging with people I actually like, I don't wanna 'ruin' the night'," – again with the fingers – "and I started getting angry, like, we'd be stuck out here if he didn't come, you know!?" We all nod simultaneously, not wanting to break her flow. "And then he's like," – she starts using a deep voice to mimic him – "'Maybe I'll send Natsu!' and before I can say another word, the bastard hangs up on me!"_

_She stops to breathe, but doesn't get a chance to resume her rant as Gray cuts in angrily. "What the hell? That idiot's coming!?"_

"_Wait, you know him?" Jellal asks, surprised. "And he knows Gajeel? And, uh... actually, who is this we're talking about?"_

_Gray's face darkens further, and Levy turns away to glare at her seat ferociously. Jellal knows better than to try get an answer our of her, so he turns to Juvia, who shrugs, looking as bewildered as he does. They both turn to me. "Lucy?"_

_I shake my head, confused as well. I know of Gajeel through Levy's constant complaining, but who the hell is this Natsu guy? "Gray, who is...?"_

_I trail off as I see he's got the same murderous aura surrounding him as Levy, and I shake my head in disbelief. "What is it about these kids that get you two so riled up?"_

"_Lu-chan, you don't understand," Levy says darkly. "They're a bunch of lunatics – _insane_ lunatics."_

_Gray nods furiously, imploring us to understand with challenging eyes. My brow furrows in bewilderment. "Gray, how do you even know Nalu?"_

"_Natsu," he spits out. "Fucking idiotic, hot-tempered, moronic, dim-witted, numb-skulled, brain-dead bastard."_

_I blink. "Huh!?"_

_This time, it's Levy's turn to nod, and she does it so vehemently her hair-band slips forward a bit, causing some hair to fall over her eye. "Like, if you consider Gajeel hot-headed, Natsu's brain is a flipping _volcano_. He's _crazy_, Lu-chan."_

"_Wait, when did you even meet this guy?" I'm still taken aback my Gray's outburst of insults – it's not in his character to be so offensive, and to an absolute stranger at that... "He can't be so bad that you can call him brain-dead, Gray. Come on, be fai-"_

_Levy cuts me off as Gray just stares at me with wide eyes, as if to say 'I thought you were meant to be on my side'. "Lu-chan, he hangs out with Gajeel, for crying out loud. Doesn't that just scream trouble?"_

_"To be honest,_ _I still don't really get what's so bad about Ga..." I trail off at Levy's incredulous expression. I look to Juvia for help, but she's watching Gray with concern; Jellal, however, catches my gaze with a calculating one of his own._

"_Levy, when did you even meet Nalu?" Jellal asks, finally entering the conversation. Thank God for that. He's the calmest of the whole blue-haired clan – if there's any Loxar who can calm Levy down besides Wendy, it's him._

"_Natsu!" she corrects him, irritated. "And he was at the garage one time. He's like, study partners with Gajeel or something." Just saying his name deepens her scowl. "Gray came with Juvia to pick me up, and that's when he met him. He's..." She shakes her head. "He's _crazy_, Lu-Chan. You know he seriously tried eating fire once? He gives a whole new meaning to the word 'reckless'."_

_Gray chuckles darkly. "In this case, that's not a bad thing. He'll probably die faster that way."_

"_Oh, come on!" I throw my hands up in exasperation, nearly slapping Jellal in the eye as I do. "You guys are being ridiculous! Levy, didn't Gajeel say he'd send someone to fix Pantherlily?" She tries to interrupt but I don't give her the chance to. "And Gray, didn't you just meet Nalu that one time?" I ignore his growled correction. "You're both being absolutely ridiculous! You can't just judge people like that when you don't even know them! And Levy, before you say anything, you only see Gajeel once a week. Hell, I'm sure this Nalu- Oh, for God's sake, Gray, Natsu, okay?"_

_I'm on a roll now – even Juvia's managed to tear her gaze from my older twin to look at me appreciatively, silently agreeing with what I'm saying._

"_I bet he's actually a great guy, and you're both just being really defensive and judgemental because you can't get over initial differences. When he comes here, I really hope you two can grow up and get over your misplaced hatred to thank him for helping us..." I'm stopping to take a deep breath when I notice that Gray's wearing an odd expression._

_He's not even looking at me, I note incredulously. Instead, he's staring out the open window behind me, his expression deadpan. Jellal glances behind me too with a shocked expression, and – if I'm not mistaken – a hint of pink in his cheeks? What the hell?_

_I'm about to follow their gazes when the door I'm leaning on suddenly opens, leaving me leaning on thin air._

* ~ [**FMLB**] ~ *

I cringe at the memory, feeling the heat crawl up my cheeks. In retrospect, it would be a good idea to close the windows before going on a full-on rant about people expected to show up any minute.

Smooth, Lucy. Really smooth.

I guess that's the mystery of the headache gone, though. It doesn't relieve any of the tension in my belly to know that rather than raging drunk, I was concussed, though.

And I'm still a seventeen year old alcohol virgin. Which is just _great_, you know.

* ~ [**FMLB**] ~ *

_I let out a strangled cry, falling back out of the car onto the rough tarmac of the pavement below with an _oof_. I bump my head hard, and it sends me reeling. Blinking, I try to focus through the pain in my skull. "Wh-wha...?"_

_Someone guffaws obnoxiously above me, but my vision is too blurry to make out more than dark shapes in the twilight. "Shit, hit her head hard, didn't she?" a deep, somewhat gravelly voice chuckles._

"_Shut up, Gajeel!" Ah, there's Levy, sounding furious. "Lu-chan, are you okay? Lu-chan!"_

"_Uh..." I don't really know. I still can't make out clear shapes but the pain's receding. Stupidly, I try to nod at her, but groan as I just bump my head again._

_The gruff voice – the infamous Gajeel? – sounds gleeful as he makes a noise half-way between a taunt and a laugh; "Geehee, what an idiot. Did she just try to nod? I'm not surprised to see your friends are as stupid as you are, shrimp."_

_I feel my temper spike. "Watch your mouth, douche-bag," I find myself saying. Whoops, there goes the filter. So much for greeting them with thanks._

_To my surprise, another boy starts laughing. I don't recognise his voice, but as my vision clears, I see him crouch down beside me. He's got a nice voice – it's loud, but pleasant to listen to. I can't quite put my finger on it, but there's just something about it I like. It's... friendly._

"_She must have really bumped her head hard," the voice says. No, I mean, he says with the voice – with _his_ voice, damn it. I blink repeatedly, resisting the urge to shake my head to clear it, and look up at him. He's grinning and I notice that his canines are sharper than normal._

"_You have cute teeth," I mumble, my gaze fixed on his face. His eyes – dark and slanted, almost lizard-like – widen slightly in surprise._

"_Are you drunk?" he inquires, and I can't help but giggle._

"_I'm drunk on sidewalk, I think," I say speculatively. "Are you Nalu?"_

"_Oh my God," I hear Gray mumble in mortification, and I can see him cover his face with a hand in my peripheral vision. When did he get there? "Natsu, Lucy. His name's Natsu."_

_The lizard-boy glances up at Gray. Ugh, no, I hate lizards. "What's scaly?" I find myself asking. "Lizards are but I don't like them, and I need something scaly that I like..."_

_Someone suddenly grabs my waist and hauls me to my feet. He doesn't smell like Jellal or Gray; more like... a mixture of spice and musky cologne. I like it._

"_Lucy, huh?" Lizard-but-not-lizard-boy chuckles and I start when I feel his breath on my neck. It's hot, and a little moist, and it makes me shiver._

"_You have magic breath," I mumble, wincing at my throbbing head. All of a sudden, inspiration hits me and I gasp accordingly. "You're a dragon!"_

_I look around with a self-satisfied grin, proud to have come up with such a clever answer. It's weird to be at face level with everyone again – I'm surprised to see my friends are already outside the car. Juvia's got a hand on the shoulder of a fuming Gray, almost like she's holding him back; Jellal's expression is guarded; Levy's glaring at someone behind me. I giggle at seeing such an intimidating expression on someone so small._

"_Get off her," Gray says challengingly to dragon-boy – he genuinely looks _scary_._

"_Excuse me?"I hear the voice – the _nice_ voice – say from behind me, in a dangerous tone that makes me want to shiver again._

_I frown as I note the proximity of me and dragon-boy– I'm almost pressed right up against him. "Nalu, I order you to let go of me," I say, looking what I'm sure is very dignified._

"_Order? Dragon? What are you, a princess?" Dragon-boy chuckles into my ear, and before I know it, he's twisted the arms he has on my waist so he can look at me properly. "Who the hell's Nalu, by the way?"_

"_N-Natsu," I correct myself, surprised to see his grinning expression. So _this_ is the reckless guy Gray hates so much?_

"_Yes, Princess Lucy?" he asks teasingly, his smile morphing into a smirk – probably at my clueless expression, I realise. My gaze wanders from his charcoal eyes to his hair, and I can't help myself. I giggle._

"_You have girl hair."_

"_Hey!"His dark eyes widen again before settling into a light scowl. "Charming, aren't you?"_

"_It's pink!"_

"_I can't exactly help it, you know."_

"_You're a giiirl dragon," I giggle, finding myself quoting Shrek. He just cocks an eyebrow at me._

"_Stop looking at me like that," I snap."It's rude."_

_His eyes flash with amusement. "Make me, princess."_

"_I _will_."_

_Before I've even got my bearings on what's going on, before I remind myself that Jellal, Juvia, Levy, Levy's arch-nemesis, my older brother and who knows _what_ else is watching, before I can even stand up on my own two feet alone, I do the first thing that comes to mind – I raise one hand to his spiky salmon-pink hair, lean forward in his arms, and kiss that stupid smirk right off his face._

* ~ [**FMLB**] ~ *

"Hi."

A male voice – a _nice_ male voice – brings my attention back to the present and I feel the blood drain from my face as I realise who it belongs to.

_Shit_. Please, no.

I screw my eyes shut in an attempt to pass it off as a dream - please, please, _please_ let this not be real - but to my mortification, when I open my eyes, I'm still in bed with a half-naked (_please_ let him just be _half_-naked) teenage boy.

I look up as slowly as I can get away with; dread joins the nausea that's coiling violently in the pit of my stomach as my gaze passes over the expanse of lightly-tanned skin taut across his broad shoulders, over his relaxed neck, his defined jaw, a sharp-toothed grin, dark slanted eyes, and – _I knew it_ – salmon-pink hair sticking up in all directions.

Natsu chuckles deep in his throat. "Morning, princess. How's your head?"

Holy shit.

Gray is going to _kill_ me.

* * *

**AN: **I'm not even sorry for leaving it there. *sadistic writer* Uwaa, I love this chapter. ^-^ (I'll probably end up saying that for every one, mind you.)

Anyway, what are your thoughts? Please let me know if you have the time; any constructive criticism is also highly appreciated! **I respond to every review with a teaser for the next chapter.**

(Side note: As far as I'm concerned, I posted this on **7/7/13**. Time differences alskdjflakdjf)

* * *

Next time in _Fairies, Misfits & Little Brats_, we have **2: Gajeel Gets a Phone Call**!


	2. Gajeel Gets a Phone Call

**AN:** I was thinking of what could be the best way to thank you for sticking with this, and the genius conclusion I reached was to post the next chapter already. XD So voilà! I'm astounded and ecstatic with the response the first chapter got. There's no way I'd give up on this fic but you readers make it so much more of a pleasure to write it. Thank you so much! :3

Before you start, I'd like to bring your attention to the date of this chapter - notice that it's set the day before Chapter One. Should you ever need to, you can use the dates for reference on what's happening when. And don't worry, you'll find out soon enough what happens after Lucy wakes up beside dear dragon-boy, but for now, say hello to more of our favourite characters! ^-^

And one last thing - I'll be jumping from different characters' perspectives in this piece. As Lucy's the _main_ protagonist, chapters from her point of view are written in 1st person, and all other characters' points of view are written in 3rd person.

Sorry this author's note is so long, & enjoy!

* * *

_**Fairies, Misfits & Little Brats**_ by Amenah

**2 - Gajeel Gets a Phone Call  
**

* * *

_4__th__ June 2012_

The sound of screaming startles Natsu awake.

"What the hell...?" He lifts his head up, bleary-eyed and stiff-necked. He's laying on the tatty leather sofa in Gajeel's apartment, his head in a soft lap, his lower legs and feet dangling off the edge. The screaming seems to be coming from right under his ear; the boy leans up with one hand, looking up to be met with Erza's dry expression. She arches an eyebrow.

"You fell asleep on me," she deadpans.

"Your ass is screaming," he mumbles back, running a hand through his spiky pink hair and yawning as she rolls her eyes. Her long scarlet hair spills over her shoulder as she stands up, bumping him off her lap in the process; she then fishes in the back pocket of her tight jeans for the vibrating cell-phone.

"Ooh iyit?" Natsu asks through a yawn, raising his arms in a stretch.

The red-head ignores him, glancing at the phone in her hand. "He sure has a unique taste in ringtones," she murmurs more to herself than the sleepy teenager, examining the device with a speculative expression as it continues to buzz, shrieking like a banshee.

Natsu snorts, standing up and leaning over her shoulder to check the caller ID. "Romeo probably changed it while Gajeel wasn't looking. Where is he, anyway?" He glances around and realise there's only him and Erza.

The tiny apartment is surprisingly clean for a teenage boy who lives alone; were it not for the empty beer cans and food packets strewn across the kitchen table, the interwoven wires of a game console under the tv, and the books laying open on the floor – a telltale sign of a high-schooler – you wouldn't really be able to tell that he lived here at all.

Erza flips the phone open, stares at the number impassively for a second, and quickly hangs up without answering. "I'm hungry so he went to find cake for me," she tells Natsu in a matter-of-fact way, tossing Gajeel's mobile back on the sofa.

The pink-haired boy nods, not even bothering to mention that she's just as capable of cake-hunting as he is, and sits back down on the sofa. The worn cushion gives under his weight, squishing down into the frame. Kicking off his shoes, Natsu curls up again with his head on the arm-rest and grins up at the red-head. "What's up?"

Erza throws her friend a weary look. "You are ridiculously lazy." She then delicately steps over the textbooks on the floor and walks to the kitchen, electing to sit on one of the four tall stools by the table rather than fight for her spot on the sofa.

They settle into a comfortable silence.

One of the great things about Erza is that she manages to make the air around her comfortable. When she's around, it's easy to relax, and it doesn't surprise Natsu that he feels himself drifting again. Yawning, he snuggles into the soft material of the couch.

All he hears is the ticking of the clock, and their steady breathing. Just one more quick nap, then he'll go home. He'll only close my eyes for a bit...

Another scream in his ear makes him jump, fall off the sofa and land right on his ass.

"Jesus Christ!" the boy yells at the phone angrily. "Shut up!"

He scowls at the thing as it continues to light up. Erza giggles from her perch on the stool at the sight of him scrambling off the floor and making a grab for the phone. Natsu's just about ready to throw it to the ground and stamp on the thing when the front door clicks open and in walks Gajeel.

"Natsu, don't break my phone, you idiot," he says, half-exasperated, half-amused as he kicks the door shut behind him.

The salmon-haired teenager glares at the newcomer. "Romeo changed your ringtone again. Keep a closer eye on your phone!"

"Hey, he's _your_ brother," Gajeel defends himself, shuffling towards the kitchen. He's laden with boxes, both big and small, and a sweet smell drifts towards Natsu. He sniffs, recognises the scent, and grins. "Nice choice," Erza compliments with a gleeful glint in her eye, already taking the box at the very top of the pile and opening it with a fork.

As Gajeel dumps the rest on the already crowded kitchen table, Natsu reaches out for a box of his own. From the smell, he can tell it's something with strawberry in it – strawberry and whipped cream and toffee and chocolate and banana and fudge and rainbow sprink-

"Quit drooling on my floor," Gajeel snaps at him, breaking him out of his temporary dessert-induced coma. The new arrival is standing in front of him, holding out an expectant leather-clad hand. "Phone."

Natsu would be lying if he said that Gajeel looked normal; the guy's got piercings running up both ears, eyebrows, even down the sides of his nose. But somehow, he manages to pull that off– that, as well as the foot-long mane of black hair that he sports so proudly. His appearance, coupled with his offensive attitude and easy insults, don't make him the most approachable of the pink-haired teen's friends.

But Natsu could totally take him.

However, a second glance at the Gajeel tells him he's too busy grinning at an over-excited Erza flitting between boxes of cakes and tarts to pay any attention to being sized up. Natsu hands it to him and side-steps so he can get the sweet-smelling heaven of pastries on the table.

"Who was it?"

"Dunno. Some number."

"Wow, thanks," the dark-haired boy says sarcastically, rolling his eyes and turning to walk into his room, presumably to call back.

"Here to help!" Natsu calls behind him with a chuckle, and turns to choose from the buffet of deliciousness lying on the table in front of him. Just as he reaches for the box closest to him – it smells like a hearty banoffee pie - Erza mercilessly slaps his hand away.

"Hey!" He holds his hand to his chest, nursing the stinging flesh. She doesn't even look up at the remark. "Erza?"

She pauses in her chewing; her hair falls over one eye as she throws the boy a glower so threatening it stops him in his tracks. She's one of his best friends but damn, the girl's _scary_. "Mine," she pretty much snarls.

Natsu stays still, staring wide-eyed as she gets back to work on her fifth helping, a soft yellow sponge with icing almost as red as her hair. The dark aura around her has almost dissipated when his stomach growls loud and clear. The sugary smell is making his mouth water, and he reaches forward again hesitantly.

"Natsu," she says warningly, watching her friend with narrowed eyes.

"Bu-But..." He pouts. "_Food_..."

"Go back to sleep, you're annoying me."

"Erza! You're so mean!"

"Mine."

He whines, "Erza!"

"No. My cake." She looks delighted as she inelegantly speaks through a big mouthful of lemon meringue pie._ "Mine_."

"You're kidding, right?" She ignores him. "Erza, you're so greedy - so _mean_! How can you deny me food? I'm a growing boy, I need sustenance! Look," he insists, lifting up the hem of his shirt to reveal a six-pack, "I'm withering away to nothing!"

She doesn't hesitate to hit him.

Doubling over, Natsu wheezes as she happily returns to her plate. "Do-Doesn't hurt a bit," he chokes out, clutching at what has to be a bruise. And then, for some unfathomable reason she slaps the back of his head; he face-plants the linoleum tiles.

"Natsu, what the hell are you doing?" Gajeel's snide voice brings his attention back to the situation at hand. _Natsu needs cake_.

"Gajeel!" he yells triumphantly into the floor, pain forgotten – he still can't get up, though. "Help me get food! You hold her, I'll eat! We can take her, you and me! Teamwork's the way to go!"

To Natsu's dismay, all he gets in reply is a "Shut up," and another giggle from Erza.

"Gajeel, you traitor," the teenager mumbles weakly, wincing as he gets up on his knees. "Erza, I think you broke my stomach muscle."

"You can't break stomach muscle, Natsu."

"Well, you wouldn't know, would you?"

"What?"

"Nothing!" Natsu leaps up and brushes himself off. "Nothing at all! Did I say something, because I don't think I said something, did I say something, Gaje-"

The pierced teen cuts him off without even sparing him a glance, having taken a seat at the far end of the table and now pulling the smallest of the boxes towards himself. "Natsu, go back to sleep, you're too loud."

The rose-haired youth gapes at his 'friend'. He looks back at him innocently – or as innocently as someone like Gajeel can – and chews on what appears to be a _rye loaf_.

"You're surrounded by all this and _that's_ what you choose?" He knew it, Gajeel's not human.

"Geehee." Ignoring Erza's little outcry of "_Mine_!" he takes a big bite out of the tough bread. "S'got lotsh" – he pauses, swallowing – "of iron. Good for building muscle, good for fighting disease." He bites another huge chunk out of the loaf. "Tashtes great, choo."

Natsu stares at him, open-mouthed. "You're disgusting."

"Gajeel, did you call back?"

"Huh?" The youngest boy looks confused by Erza's question and Natsu snorts back his laughter; with his mouth full like that, Gajeel looks like some demented biker-bunny. Twisting into the seat beside him, the hungry teen cautiously reaches for a box. Erza isn't looking, so he's sure he can just-

"Natsu."

"Aye!" he yelps, dropping hishand under the table. She stares at him and he cowers under her gaze – _so scary_ – but her face unexpectedly breaks into a fond smile, and she goes back to questioning Gajeel about the call.

Natsu lets out a little sigh of relief before ripping the box open. He hopes it's a banana muffin, or wait, no, maybe a slice of toffee cake, or wait, maybe a banoffee pie! He eagerly grabs his prize out of the box and he's about to take a bite of the delicious sweet pastry when – wait, _what_?

Gajeel casually reaches forward and takes the rye loaf out of Natsu's limp hand. "Yeah, I called back just now. Why?"

"I recognised the number from somewhere. Who was it?" Natsu lifts his head from the table to glance at her in surprise. Erza's tone is oddly serious.

Gajeel looks surprised. "You know it? It was some kid from Metalicana asking fo-"

"What the hell's Metalicana?" Natsu interrupts, confused. Erza shoots him an irritated look as Gajeel shakes his head.

"How you manage to be so stupid, I don't know," he remarks in bewilderment.

"This coming from the guy who believes in ghosts?" the pink-haired boy shoots back.

"Only a fool wouldn't believe in phantoms," Gajeel says in an offhand way, brushing the comment aside. "My Dad's garage, you idiot. You were there just a week ago!"

Natsu shrugs, not remembering a thing.

"You tried to set fire to the lubricating oil."

Realisation dawns on him. "Oh, yeah... Heh, that was grea-" He snaps his mouth shut when he catches sight of Erza's impatient expression, and waves a hand in dismissal. "Nevermind, go on."

Gajeel smirks. "Yeah, Shrimp wanted help with something." He shakes his head, looking exasperated. "I've never met someone so annoying." He glances at Natsu and seems to think that over. "Well, maybe one other person..."

Erza interrupts his thoughts anticipatorily. "Shrimp?" she asks, looking oddly hopeful.

Gajeel frowns in confusion. "Why so interested?"

"I'm not."

He shrugs. "Okay, then."

Natsu glances in confusion from Gajeel, who looks bored, to Erza, who's pensively staring at the table like it holds the answer to all of life's questions. An awkward pause settles in the room until she breaks it again. "What colour is their hair?"

"Huh?" the dark-haired teen says lamely.

She sighs impatiently. "Hair," she repeats, holding some of her own scarlet locks in her fingers and brandishing it towards a sceptical Gajeel. "What colour is Shrimp's hair?"

"Uh..." He stares at her, looking a bit apprehensive. "Blue?"

Her eyes widen and she takes a sharp intake of breath.

"Erza, everything okay?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't it be? Everything's fine. It's fine, Gajeel, _it's_ _fine_."

"Uh... That's... good?" He doesn't pursue it, seemingly decided that it's best to leave her to her thoughts, and is about to take another bite out of the bread when Erza starts again.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Who is it?" she asks eagerly. "This 'Shrimp' guy, who is he? What's he like? What does he look like? What's his name?"

Gajeel blinks at her. "It's a girl."

In any other situation, Natsu would have cracked up at the fiery-haired girl's flabbergasted expression, but right now, it doesn't really feel appropriate.

"W-what?"

"Yeah, Lenny or something. Blue hair, half my size, loud voice, annoying as fuck? She can't handle metal to save her life and has her face glued to a notepad half the ti-..." He trails off as Erza visibly deflates at his description. There's a painful silence as Natsu's charcoal eyes flit between the bewildered boy and the undeniably depressed girl.

"What did she want?" he asks suddenly, hating the new lost look in Erza's eyes. She'd clearly been expecting someone else and Natsu almost doesn't want to ask who; she doesn't talk about her past often, and it's not hard to guess why.

"Uh..." Gajeel hesitates, staring at Erza's unusually bleak expression. "Her car broke down or something. Thought I could help."

"Can you?"

He shrugs. "Probably. Don't mean I will, though."

The three youngsters sit uncomfortably in the silence that follows, the boys not knowing where to look, Erza staring at nothing with an absent look on her face – she looks scared, like she's reliving some painful memory.

Natsu doesn't know what to do but he knows he needs to do something because Erza is _not_ supposed to look that _vulnerable_. She's supposed to be strong and happy and frustratingly possessive over strawberry cake, not so disappointed, not so _sad_-

She abruptly stands up and he breathes in sharply.

She blinks once, and shakes her head a little to clear her mind. It causes her hair falls over her eye again and she brushes it away impatiently before alternating a stare between the raven- and rose-haired boys. "Let's go."

They simultaneously say, "_Huh_?"

She's still got a hint of that broken expression left in her eye, but over-shadowing it is a dauntless determination that Natsu feels instantly weary of. And he can't help the guilt that blooms in his stomach, despite not knowing why it's there.

"We're going to help your friend. There's no honour in ignoring the cries of those in trouble. Come on," she says matter-of-factly, standing up and pushing away her plate (which is empty save the breadcrumbs). "We will give them all we have to offer. Don't argue, Gajeel – this is the right thing to do." She wanders away from the table with a strong stride, her righteous words sounding very Erza-like and almost quelling Natsu's anxiety – _almost_. "Let's go, get ready. Where are my shoes?"

"I-..." Gajeel says stupidly, still a bit befuddled by Erza's mood swings. "I... would hardly call her my _friend_."

Natsu can't help his smirk. "You'd hardly call _us_ your friends." He jumps off the stool with recovered enthusiasm – as long as Erza's fine, everything's fine. He raps his knuckles on his buddy's head teasingly. "Skull so thick, nothing gets through. S'all the iron you eat, your bones are turning to steel."

Gajeel throws his friend a dirty look. "You're not really one to talk, _hothead_. Didn't you try to eat fire once?"

"The way I remember it, I didn't just _try_-"

"Boys!" Erza snaps. "Let's go! Gajeel, stop wasting time."

Natsu smirks as the rebellious boy scrambles off the stool and starts stuffing his feet into his shoes. It's nice to see that even Gajeel can be bossed around a bit. Said teen catches Natsu's eye, and scowls. "Something funny?"

"I don't know, Gajeel. _Is_ something fu-"

"Natsu, hurry up!"

He yelps, "Aye!" and tries his best to ignore Gajeel's cackling.

"Real smooth, hothead," he sneers, leaning down to fix one of the lace-ups.

Natsu shrugs on his soot leather jacket, unaffected. "What? Erza's scary."

Gajeel scoffs. "She's just a gi-"

"_Boys_!" They whip round and stare at the impressive figure standing in the doorway; Erza's got her purse in hand, hand on hip, boots laced, coat zipped, and scarlet hair back in her face. She blows her bangs out of her eyes absent-mindedly, eyeing Gajeel fiercely before turning and _prancing_ out the door.

"- ...definitely terrifying. Whole different species," Gajeel amends, hurriedly ensuing Erza out of his apartment.

Snickering, Natsu grabs the keys he left on the table in his haste, and follows suit.

* ~ [**FMLB**] ~ *

"Erza, did you really have to bring the cake?"

"This," she remarks, holding up the small box she's eating out of, "is _strawberry_ cake." Her tone suggests that it's crazy to ask such a stupid question, and that it's perfectly reasonable to have _six_ boxes piled up on her lap. Natsu watch dubiously as she pries the first one open and prepares to eat.

"Why'd you have to bring it though? Just the smell of food while we're travelling is making me..." He presses a hand to his stomach, grimacing. "_Nauseous_."

She rolls her eyes, piercing a slice with her fork. "It could have gone soggy."

"That's what fridges were made for," he mumbles dejectedly, stomach churning.

"What?"

"Nothing!"

"Right." She lifts a forkful of dessert to her mouth, effectively halting the conversation.

"Erza," Gajeel calls from the driver's seat, "I swear to God if you get some on the seat..." She ignores him, looking blissful with her face stuffed full. "Erza, seriously. This car isn't even mine – don't forget my dad doesn't know I'm using it. So for God's sake," he insists, starting up the engine as he scrutinises her through the rear-view mirror, "be careful."

"Gajeel, you do know where we're going, right?" the salmon-haired boy asks, shuddering as the car pulls out onto the quiet road of downtown Magnolia.

"Yeah, Shrimp gave me a couple directions before I hung up on her."

"And you think you can get her car going?"

"Are you kidding?" he exclaims, patting the case of tools on the passenger's seat almost reverently. "With these babies, there ain't nothing I can't fix."

"Right," Natsu grins uneasily. "Although, I wish you'd let us walk instead of- _ah_!" The car suddenly swerves, and something somersaults in the nauseated boy's stomach.

"Natsu..." Gajeel growls warningly, watching the older boy keel over onto the empty seat beside him in the rear-view mirror. "Don't you fucking dare."

Natsu groans quietly, feeling hopelessly queasy. "The cake smells really..."

"_Natsu_..."

He can feel the vehicle rumbling through the seat and it causes a whole new lurching in the pits of his belly. He groans again, louder, and squeezes his eyes shut. "Gajeel, can't you go a bit slower, please..."

"We're going at fifteen an hour." Natsu can almost hear the driver rolling his eyes. "You fucking embarrassment."

"He lasted for almost a minute before the sickness this time," Erza notes speculatively, having already emptied every box and now playing with the plastic fork thoughtfully. "It's a record."

The car shudders again under Natsu's cheek and he moans shamelessly. "Gajeel! Slower..." The constant motion has the teenager keening like a dying animal. "_Please_..."

"You're absolutely pathetic."

Natsu can't even muster the energy to snap something back at him anymore, and instead elects for a very disgruntled whine.

* ~ [**FMLB**] ~ *

"Wooh!" The rose-haired youth stretches his arms above his head, his unusually sharp canines giving a wolfish quality to his wide grin. "Sure feels good to be on solid ground again. That was _torturous_! I wish I was a caveman, _they_ didn't have to deal with this stuff."

"Moron," Gajeel mutters from behind him. Natsu turns to see his friend dragging his toolbox out of the car. "We were on the road for less than ten minutes."

"That's ten minutes too long."

"Or maybe you just need to grow a backbone."

"What was that, stupid?!"

"Who you callin' stupid, hothead?!"

"Oi, knock it off!" Erza butts in, shutting them up effectively. Gajeel kneels and checks all of his tools are in place as she steps out of the car and takes in their surroundings with a frown. "Where are your friends, Gajeel?"

"They ain't my friends," the black-haired boy mutters grumpily. Her frown deepens – a fact that doesn't go unnoticed by him. "She said they were right outside Magnolia Cake Shop, Erza," he sighs. "Maybe Shrimp finally got the car working or something, I don't know." He chuckles under his breath. "Though I doubt it very much."

"Well, _it's_ right there," Natsu pipes up, gesturing with an arm to the shop window behind the scarlet-haired girl.

"So where are they?" Sounding less than impressed, Erza turns and they both look around sceptically. "W-wait..." She suddenly freezes, her eyes wide.

"What?" Natsu blink.

"C... Cake shop?"

His eyes widen. "Erza..."

"I-..." She seems conflicted. "I... I'm going to go to the cake shop."

"You just had six slices of strawberry cake!" He exclaims, outraged. "Besides, you can't abandon the mission halfway through!"

"What _mission_?" Gajeel mumbles, still kneeling on the ground.

"Look, I'll only be a couple minutes!" Erza insists, ignoring Gajeel completely. "Besides," she adds on guiltily. "I don't really need to be there, right? They don't know _me_."

"You're a giver-uper!" Natsu scolds her. "I can't believe you."

"I am not!" she cries, incensed. "I'll only get one slice anyway. Just look for them while I'm-"

"-being a giver-uper."

"Natsu, stop calling me that!"

"Giver-uper, giver-uper, giver-uper, giv- _OW_!" He rubs his stinging forehead with gentle fingers. "You're so mean, Erza..."

She rolls her eyes, looking like she's had enough. "Deal with it." She spins round and makes her way to the door of the store behind her. "Gajeel, don't let Natsu do something stup- umm..." She trails off, glancing at her pink-haired friend. He sticks his tongue out at her grumpily. "Stupider than usual," she finishes lamely.

"At least I'm _going_ on the mission," Natsu whines as Gajeel loudly groans, "Erza, I can't believe you're leaving me with _him_!"

"Hey!" Natsu glares at the younger boy indignantly. "I'm a great teammate, you jerk!"

"Shut up and act your age."

"Don't tell me to shut up!"

"Shut up. Come on."

"Gajeel, you're meaner than Erza."

* * *

**AN: **So I really really enjoyed writing this chapter as well. *so easy to please* Natsu's such a fun character to write - did I portray him as you'd expected? Please let me know if you have the time; any constructive criticism is also highly appreciated! **I respond to every review with a teaser for the next chapter.**

Also, I'm thinking that (should I manage to keep up a steady writing pace) I'll be posting chapters every weekend, most likely on **Saturdays**. No promises, but you can probably expect more FMLB then. ;)  
Bye for now, and have a good week! xo

* * *

Next time in _Fairies, Misfits & Little Brats_, we have **3: Shrimp and the Gang**!


	3. Shrimp and the Gang

**AN:** I'm sick, & it _sucks_. *sigh* But that's fine because Chapter Three's up, and isn't that just dandy? (That wasn't meant to sound sarcastic...) You know, I have fun making up chapter titles. It's so fulfilling in a way hahaha. Does anyone else ever feel like that? (no amenah it's just you you loser)

Again, thank you so much for the responses to the last chapter. Reviews are so motivational - it's crazy how eager I am to write more for you guys after I read them. Anyway, I don't have a lot to say today, so instead of wasting your time with my blabbering, go ahead and read the chapter. ;)

* * *

_**Fairies, Misfits & Little Brats**_ by Amenah

**3 - Shrimp and the Gang  
**

* * *

_4__th__ June 2012_

"Natsu, take the fucking scarf off your head."

"We're ninjas, I can't blow my cover! Now be quiet or someone might hear."

"What the hell are you talki-"

"Shhh!"

"Natsu, you-"

"_Shhh_!" Keeping his back to the alley wall, the pink-haired teen glances down the narrow path; it's deserted. Holding one hand to his head to keep the scale-patterned scarf from slipping, Natsu inelegantly spy-rolls to the other end of the street. He comes up in a crouch with his hands held together over his chest in some sort of gun imitation. "Coast's clear," he hisses covertly, swivelling his back to the wall again.

"It's hard to believe you're actually seventeen," Gajeel grumbles from behind him. "How the hell can you be older than me?" The gruff complaint sounds too loud in the twilight; the setting sun casts an orange shadow all over Magnolia, creating an eerily quiet atmosphere.

Natsu throws his pierced friend a dirty look. "Hey, Gajeel?"

"Hmm?"

"_Shhh_."

There's a pause as he waits for Gajeel's reaction – he grins when there isn't one. "Hey, Gajeel?" Natsu's ignored this time, so he turns his charcoal eyes back to catch sight of the grumpy sixteen year old crossing his arms and sighing exasperatedly. "Gajeel," Natsu hisses again. "I have something important to tell you!"

"Shut up, Natsu."

"..._Nin-nin_."

Gajeel stares at the rose-haired boy with an unbelieving expression. "Natsu, I think your brain has melted. I really do."

"That's awfully mean."

"Shut up, hothead."

"Don't tell me to shut u-!" Natsu cuts off, realising his shouting could endanger their sneakiness. He whispers an exaggerated apology.

Gajeel runs a hand across his face as Natsu _rolly-pollies_ around another corner. "So glad the stores close early on Sundays. I'm embarrassed to know you."

"Hey, screw you!_"_ Natsu yells back defensively. "And _shhh_!"

"You're the one who just yelled!"

"Who's yelling now!?"

"For fuck's sake, you are!"

"Well, so are you, stupid!"

"Are you _trying_ to pick a fi-" Gajeel freezes mid-sentence; his eyes widen and lock onto something behind Natsu, his jaw slackening. The pink-haired boy turns and follows his gaze, frowning in confusion, to be met with a worn-down black pick-up truck parked on the corner. There's rust crawling up the rim, and a glaringly obvious scratch running along the driver's door – it almost looks like a scar.

"That," Gajeel mumbles in appreciation, eyeing the haggard paint-job, "is one nice fucking car." He blinks twice and glances around the otherwise deserted street. "I want that car. That should be _my_ car."

"Gajeel, we can't waste time, we're on a mission!"

"...I don't even own a car. I want that one." Gajeel looks demented in his sudden happiness. "That's _my_ car."

"Gajeel..." The pink-haired teen watches his transfixed friend cautiously; he wouldn't actually steal someone's car again... right? He only _looks_ like a delinquent; he wouldn't really do something that stupid... _right_? Natsu's train of thought is broken as the pierced boy starts sprinting towards the parked truck without hesitation. "Wai- Gajeel!" Natsu curses under his breath and chases after him. And they call _him_ reckless?

"Car, car, car, car, car!" Natsu gets an earful of Gajeel's gleeful chants and quickens his pace, rapidly advancing on the mane of black hair – he'd always been faster than the would-be delinquent. Reaching out a hand, he leaps forward and tackles Gajeel with a grunt, sending them both skidding along the sidewalk.

Gajeel groans into the tarmac, his cheek pressed against the ground as they slow to a standstill. "Get the fuck off me."

"Not until you calm the fuck down," Natsu retorts, rather awkwardly adopting the curse Gajeel's renowned for overusing. He then hisses, "What's wrong with you? You can't just go around trying to jump random trucks. I thought we'd been over this."

"What the fuck are you whispering for?"

"You swear too much." Natsu clears his throat and glances around, paranoid. "Gajeel, if someone saw you trying to steal a car again-"

"Chill out, hothead, I haven't stolen any cars-"

"That's because every time you try to, someone ends up stopping you. You can't keep doing this, you know!" He runs a hand through his salmon-coloured hair exasperatedly. Holding his friend down with one hand, he gets up to sit on his back, preventing any chance of escape. "Just because all the other metal kids-"

"-they're called mechanics, dimwit-"

"-have cars doesn't mean you need one, too." Natsu carries on as if Gajeel hadn't said anything, well accustomed to this speech – Erza has to give it to Gajeel at least twice a month, and he never seems to get the message. "Not everyone needs to have a car!"

"But... they _all_ have cars," he whines from underneath Natsu uncharacteristically. "I just want a car that suits me, is that too much to ask?" His petulant tone immediately switches to his usual grumpy snarl. "And seriously, Natsu. Fuckin' get _off_ me."

Natsu scrutinises Gajeel for a second. "Have you snapped out of it? You can't just _take_ random cars off the street like they belong to you! You shouldn't even know how to do that, actually – what sixteen year old knows how to hotwire a car?"

"Yeah, fine, whatever!" His impatient growl would have been a whole lot more intimidating had it not been issued from right underneath the salmon-haired boy. "Get off me already, idiot."

"Nope," Natsu grins patronisingly. "What have we learned?"

"I-" The dark-haired boy scowls at the ground. "That I can't just steal cars."

"And?

"And- fuck you, Natsu. And one day, I'll get my own car and it will be just fucking perfect, rainbows and shit. You happy? Now _move_ your goddamn-"

A girl's exasperated cry cuts him off. "I bet he's actually a great guy!"

Gajeel starts and Natsu jumps off of him in shock as the voice continues, "You're both just being really defensive and judgemental because you can't get over initial differences!" He can hear her clear as day and as Gajeel gets up hesitantly, they both look around for her – the street's just as deserted as it was a second ago, with only the rose-haired boy, his friend and his friend's would-be pickup truck in sight.

"When he comes here, I really hope you two can grow up," she continues, sounding like she's having great fun spouting a lecture. His gaze snaps to the window of the car – the _open_ window of the car – as he realises that's where her voice is coming from. "...get over your misplaced hatred to thank him for helping us..."

She trails off just as Natsu walks towards the window – she's got her back to him and all he can see of her is the blonde back of her head. He puts his hand to the door handle – she's not noticed him yet – and leans forward so he can see into the truck. All the seats have teenagers sitting in them, three of whom are staring right at him with varying expressions of perplexity. _Blue hair_, Natsu notes with a wry grin. _Guess we found Shrimp and the gang._

Without a second thought, Natsu opens the door and accidentally sends the blonde girl leaning on it tumbling to the ground.

_Whoops_.

She yelps in pain as her head hits the tarmac, and both Natsu and Gajeel wince as they _hear_ the muffled thump. She blinks up at Natsu, not really seeing him, and mumbles, "Wh-wha...?"

Gajeel starts cackling at the sight of the poor girl, and Natsu can't help but smirk at her clueless expression. A petite girl with messy blue hair wrenches the passenger door open and scrambles out – when she looks up, Natsu notes that she's got quite a doll-like face. Her hazel eyes are furious, and there's a slight pink in her cheeks. "Shut up, Gajeel!" she snaps angrily, glaring at the pierced boy.

_This must be Shrimp_, Natsu guesses. He can see where she got the name; the top of her head is just about level with his shoulder.

"Lu-chan, are you okay? Lu-chan!" Shrimp continues in a panicked tone, bending down beside the blonde girl, who doesn't seem to notice.

"Uh..." The yellow-haired teen tries to nod but ends up bumping her head for a second time, and Natsu almost rolls his eyes at her stupidity – even _he_ wouldn't do something like that.

He thinks.

Gajeel's thoughts seem to be following the same path; the boy gives his signature snicker. "Geehee, what an idiot. Did she just try to nod?" he gloats, enjoying the show. "I'm not surprised to see your friends are as stupid as you are, shrimp."

"Watch your mouth, douche-bag." Natsu's eyes widen as he stares at the girl still lying on the ground. Her eyes are still unfocused, but she manages to say something like that!? The rose-haired boy can't help himself – he cracks up as Gajeel glares at the girl on the floor uncomfortably. It's not often someone other than Erza insults the pierced boy genuinely without flinching, and Natsu loves it.

He crouches down as well, deducing that the girl wouldn't have normally said something like that– someone like that would never wear a _ribbon_ in their hair, right? "She must have really bumped her head hard."

Her cinnamon eyes meet his charcoal ones, and she mumbles, "You have cute teeth."

Where did that come from? The unexpected statement rings a bell in the pink-haired youth's memory and an image of a wasted Mirajane saying the exact same thing roughly five years ago flashes across his mind. "Are you drunk?" he asks innocently.

The blonde considers the question. "I'm drunk on sidewalk, I think." Natsu blinks, not understanding. "Are you Nalu?" she continues, observing him with curious chestnut eyes.

Natsu's brow furrows in confusion. Who the hell's-

"Oh my God." A somewhat familiar voice interrupts Natsu's silent question as he glances up. "Natsu, Lucy. His name's Natsu."

Said boy looks up and does a double take; holy shit! The aforementioned voice belongs to none other than the stripper from Metalicana! Natsu's face settles into a scowl at the sight of the humiliated raven-haired boy. He ignores the blonde's rambling about a lizard, his mind instead flashing back to the argument – and short brawl that _Natsu_ had won – at Gajeel's dad's garage the other day. He _hates_ this bastard!

To stop himself from launching his fist at the guy, Natsu instead suddenly grips the blonde by her waist and hauls her to her feet, standing behind her and steadying her weight with his own. She's surprisingly light, especially for the size of her-... uh...

Natsu clears his throat to distract himself. "Lucy, huh?" he mumbles, looking anywhere but the girl's chest. When did he turn into such a pervert!? He lets out a nervous chuckle, his breath making a few strands of her hair quiver.

"You have magic breath," she says loudly, and Natsu fights the sudden urge to laugh. _She must have hit her head _really_ hard_, he thinks. This theory is proven further when she randomly shouts, "You're a dragon!"

Natsu takes the opportunity to glance around. Everyone seems to have gotten out of the car – Shrimp's silently seething at Gajeel, who's watching the blonde girl in Natsu's arms – _Lucy_ – with an amused expression. There's another girl with blue hair slightly darker than Shrimp's, and beside her stands yet another blunette; his arms are crossed in a defensive stance, an unusual reddish tattoo stretching over his right cheek and across his eye, disappearing under his messy cobalt hair.

_Same as Happy! Who has naturally blue hair?_ Natsu wonders idly, decidedly ignoring the fact that pink hair isn't exactly common either – people can leave _his_ hair _alone._

"Get off her." The hostile voice is directed towards him from the raven-haired boy. Natsu returns his challenging glare.

"Excuse me?" he hisses. Something about this moron gets him all fired up for a fight. Does this idiot want a re-match?

"Nalu," Lucy says suddenly, her voice faux-authoritarian, "I order you to let go of me."

"Order? Dragon?" Natsu smirks, his anger at the stripper forgotten as he grins at the girl's words. "What are you, a princess?" He lifts his arms and turns the girl's small body around to face him. Oh, shit... This girl's damn _cute_. She blinks her wide eyes at him innocently and he finds he has to distract himself again. "Who the hell's Nalu, by the way?"

"N-Natsu," she amends.

His smirk widens and he can't help but want to tease her. "Yes, Princess Lucy?"

She ignores him, her cinnamon eyes landing on his hair. She giggles, "You have girl hair!"

"Hey!" Natsu whines_. Okay, maybe she's not so cute anymore._ "Charming, aren't you?"

She doesn't stop giggling. "It's pink!" she defends herself.

Well, way to state the obvious. Natsu's hair is a manly pink. It's _manly_. "I can't exactly help it, you know," he grumbles – she's hit a sore spot and he knows it. Out of the corner of his eye, he catches the dark-haired boy smirking and the idea of punching it right off his face calms Natsu down a bit.

"You're a giiirl dragon!" Lucy says gleefully, and the rose-haired boy raises an eyebrow in irritation. His hair is _manly,_ and he doesn't care how much like Elfman he sounds, he isn't going to back down. _It is a manly pink_.

Her expression changes in a split-second, and she frowns at Natsu disapprovingly. "Stop looking at me like that, it's rude."

_He's_ rude? He gives the girl an exasperated look, but can't help but tease her again. "Make me, princess."

"I _will_," she states regally. To Natsu's intense surprise, before he knows what's really happening, Lucy is kissing him.

She is kissing him.

_She's fucking kissing him_.

His yelp of alarm is muffled by her mouth, but the other cries aren't, the loudest of which seems to be more of a roar than anything else. Natsu recognises it to be the stripper's voice yelling, "Get off my sister, you bastard!"

Someone yanks the girl off of the frozen boy, who blinks and watches as she tumbles out of his motionless arms and onto the ground again. The thump of her head hitting the sidewalk snaps Natsu out of his shock-induced daze and he flinches as her eyes flutter closed.

_Whoops again._

"What the hell?" The dark-haired boy is right up in his face, Natsu's collar in his hand. He narrows his dark blue eyes threateningly. "Did you seriously just kiss my sister? I'm gonna rip you limb from limb!"

"Are you blind, moron!?" Natsu snaps. He yanks his shirt out the guy's grasp. "I didn't do a thing, it was all her! In case you didn't notice, your sister or whatever's the one that-"

"-was just attacked by you, yeah, I saw!" Natsu watches incredulously as he suddenly strips off his shirt at lightning speed, his voice muffled by the fabric. "You perverted retard, you are _so_ _dea_-"

"Who the hell are you calling perverted!? Put your shirt back on!" Natsu exclaims as the taller of the two blue-haired girls rushes towards the stripper. Out of his peripheral vision, Natsu sees the other two blunettes and Gajeel staring at the confrontation with wide eyes and open mouths.

"Gray-sama!" she cries in a panicked voice. 'Gray' ignores her, finally managing to pull his messy mop of dark hair out of the collar of his shirt.

"Let's go!" he yells, looking possessed as he leaps towards Natsu, left fist raised.

"I'm all fired up," the pink-haired boy retorts in a growl, making a run towards him. "Bring it on!"

"_Gray-sama_!" The girl's voice is raised, her tone aggressive and – though Natsu would never admit it – a little frightening. "Enough!" She steps in front of the two boys, both of whom slow down to stop from colliding with her. She places her hands on her hips, turning to throw Natsu a furious glare. "Juvia will not allow you to harm her lov_-friends_! Her f-friends!"

Natsu adopts a witless expression as his fury fades to be replaced by confusion, watching Gray roll his eyes impatiently behind her. He seems to have calmed down after her intervention as well. "Juvia, don't butt in! I was about to teach this bastard a lesso-"

"Gray, you idiot!" Natsu jumps and turns to see none other than Shrimp storming towards them, leaving a stupefied Gajeel and the other guy by the pickup truck. "Lu-chan's just hit her head so hard she might have split her skull, and you're trying to get into a fight with this hothead again!?"

"I'm not a hothead!"

"Oh, shut up," Shrimp snaps at him. Natsu decidedly ignores Gajeel's snicker, grimacing – she's a lot more like the mechanic than he'd first thought – as the petite girl's gaze lands on the unconscious blonde lying between them.

"Out cold?" Gajeel pipes up, coming up behind him and crouching down to check on her. Natsu shrugs and does the same.

"That didn't go quite according to plan, did it? Erza's whole 'swoop in, be the hero' trick" Gajeel chuckles, glancing around as the blue-haired teen checks her friend's pulse. "Where _is_ Erza, by the way?"

The pink-haired boy shrugs, remembering. "She said she'd only be a minute – how long does it take to buy one cake?"

Gajeel snorts. "Knowing her, she bought it, ate it, and bought ten more. She's insatiable when it comes to this sort of stuff."

"What?" Natsu exclaims, irritated. "She's completely failed the mission, man. Rubbish team-mate."

"There is no mission, idiot."

"Hell yeah there was. Why do you think we were ninja-ing earlier?"

"...Talking to you kills my brain cells."

"If you two ladies are done?" The two boys give their attention back to Shrimp, who's glowering at them, her hazel eyes narrowed. Natsu chuckles nervously – _what's this girl thinking, calling Gajeel a girl? Does she have a death wish?_

"What's your problem, Shrimp?" Gajeel snaps predictably.

"Don't call me that!"

"Came all the way out here, didn't we!?"

"My name's Levy, you jerk!"

"Hell, why did we even come in the first place?" Gajeel throws the question at Natsu, ignoring the indignant squeals coming from Shri- _Levy_.

"I dunno. Erza?"

"But she's not even here anymore..."

"She has a weakness for cake and sucks at missions, what do you expect?"

"I already said there's no damn mission, idiot! But-" Gajeel stands up and Natsu follows suit, both of them ignoring the scrutinising looks they're receiving from everyone "-I'm figuring there's no point is us staying here any longer; these idiots can take care of themselves."

"You asshole!" Natsu watches, amused, as a still-crouched Shri- damn it, _Levy_ curses and pushes at Gajeel's legs. The pierced boy doesn't even look down, completely unaffected.

"I think we should take care of Lucy though, it was kinda your fault she hurt her head, Gajeel," Natsu says thoughtfully.

"What!? How the hell's it my fault?"

"Well, you-..." Natsu trails off, but, unwilling to admit fault, he attempts to change the subject. "Uh, shouldn't we take he-"

"Hell no, we aren't taking her _anywhere_. She doesn't even know us!"

"Well, the rest of them can come with us, can't they?"

"Like hell. They can take care of their own fucking selves, we ain't their babysitters!"

"Gajeel, you need to put more effort in or you'll fail the mission!"

"_There is no mission_!"

"Uh, guys?" They both snap their heads around to the blue-haired guy who'd spoken. "Um, yeah, hi," he mumbles, self-conscious now that they're looking at him – the pink-haired teen's gaze curious, the other's irritated. "We can't really _go_ anywhere, Pantherlily's still kind of dead. We need a ride."

"Hell no, we don't need their help!" Gray butts in, stalking towards the three of them. "Jellal, what are you thinking? He just assaulted Lucy!"

"No, I didn't!" Natsu narrows his eyes, just itching for a chance for a fight with this weirdo who, he didn't fail to notice, still wasn't wearing a shirt.

Gajeel, ignoring the two of them, turns back to his pink-haired friend. "I'm thinking we just go. I'll drop you and Erza off at Fairy Tail, take my Dad's car back, we'll call it a night."

"Nah, I wouldn't really feel comfortable doing that, man. Lucy's out cold-" Natsu ignores the outcry of, "Thanks to you!" from Gray "-we should do something."

"Take care of Pantherlily, maybe?" Jellal pipes up again. "There's only Gray and me, we can't exactly _push_ him back ourselves, you know. He's too big."

"What the fuck's Pantherlily?"

"My car." The cobalt-haired boy gestures to the worn truck behind him. "Obviously."

Gajeel's eyes widen, his mouth stretching into the same creepily happy grin from before. "That's _your_ car?"

"Uh," Jellal hesitates, slightly freaked out by the pierced boy's sudden mood swing. "Yeah?"

Natsu voices his thoughts before Gajeel can start his fangirling. "I still think we should take Lucy with us to Fairy Tail. Master could fix her!"

"She's not _broken_!" Gray growls as Gajeel says something like, "Can I have your car?"

Natsu sighs over-dramatically. "Gajeel, we went over this!"

"Shut up, hothead," Gajeel disregards him entirely. "How much, man?"

"Um, Pantherlily's not really for sale-"

"Nah, Natsu's loaded, he'll pay anything-"

"-No, I'm not!"

"You are not selling your car to that bastard!" Gray interjects.

"Who you calling bastard, bastard?"

"That the best insult you can think of?"

"Look who's talking!"

"D-Don't call Gray-sama a bastard!"

"Come on, seriously, how much?"

"I said already, I'm not selling him!"

"Put your shirt back on and fight me like a man!"

"Bring it on, you crazy hothead! I'll kill you!"

"Let's go, I'm ready, you stupid stripper! You're going down!"

"Fucking try it!"

"Why not, man, come on, I'll pay whatever the fuck you want; I _want_ that car!"

"No, idiot, Pantherlily's mine!"

"No shit, that's why I'm offering money, asshole!"

"Don't call my brother an asshole, you- you _asshole_!"

"Sit back down, Shrimp!"

"My _name_ is Levy!"

"Put your shirt on, I'm not about to fight your naked ass!"

"Gray-sama, Juvia disagr-"

"What, you scared, 'dragon-boy'?"

"Hell no, underwear-boy! Come here, I'll beat you into the ground!"

The seven teenagers are a spectacle to be seen; an exasperated Jellal fends off an eager Gajeel waving seven ten-jewel bills in the air out of a jumping Levy's grasp, while the other two are already wrestling on the ground yelling pathetic insults at each other as Juvia watches with horrified eyes, squealing anxiously whenever Gray makes a noise. Lucy lies unconscious on the ground a little way away.

The six youngsters that are still upright are all so enraptured by something or other that no-one sees the scarlet-haired girl marching towards them, a scowl on her face and a threat in her stride.

She stops a few metres from the action, watching with disapproving eyes as Gajeel yaps with his back to her, arguing with someone she can't see due to Gray and Natsu brawling right beside them. She clears her throat in quite a ladylike manner, before putting her hands on her hips and shouting at the top of her lungs, "_What the hell is going on!?_"

All four boys freeze in what they're doing, quite literally. Gray's hand is still around Natsu's throat, Natsu's fist against Gray's stomach. Both Gajeel's mouth and eyes are wide open. Jellal shivers just from the voice, subconsciously taking a step back so he's behind the overgrown black-haired boy. Juvia's hands fly to cover her mouth, and Levy's hand – still well out of reach of the seventy jewels – dangles in the air uselessly.

Even though more than half of the company don't know who she is, they all feel terror coil in their stomach. Gray and Natsu gulp simultaneously.

Although they don't know it, they're all thinking the same thing: _am I going to die?_

* * *

**AN: **I like cliffhangers, don't you? ^-^ I honestly can't wait for you guys to read the next chapter. It's probably my favourite so far because there are cute parts and funny parts and weird parts and what-just-happened parts and uwaaaa you can expect it **next Saturday** - look forward to it, okay? (You can tell I had too much fun writing it...)  
I experimented with this chapter's dialogue a lot; I wanted to try out different techniques. I'm not sure all of them _worked_ per se, but I'm happy with the result nevertheless. I hope it wasn't too overbearing. Anyway, what are your thoughts on this chapter? I hope you enjoyed it. Please let me know if you have the time; any constructive criticism is also highly appreciated! **I respond to every review with a teaser for the next chapter.**

I need to get to work writing more chapters, or I won't be able to keep updating weekly; writing regularly is so much harder than I'd anticipated. xD It's _grueling_, I'm telling you...  
Anyway, bye for now. :3

* * *

Next time in _Fairies, Misfits & Little Brats_, we have **4: The Almost Wrath of Erza**!


	4. The Almost Wrath of Erza

**AN:** *sob* I'm still sick. Yeaah, _seriously_. I've been stuck in bed listening to Ke$ha's Warrior album on repeat. Just... don't ask.  
Go read.  
Go on.  
_Shoo_.

* * *

_**Fairies, Misfits & Little Brats**_ by Amenah

**4 - The Almost Wrath of Erza  
**

* * *

_4__th__ June 2012_

Erza's glaring at Natsu, and he can't help but feel a little bit picked on. What's he getting the full glare for? It's not like he's the only one who-... uh, the only one doing whatever Erza's angry about. Half the time he can't even tell, but he goes with it because Erza is Erza and contrary to popular belief, Natsu is not immortal – yes, _even_ if he successfully consumed _fire_.

He totally ate that fire.

"What's going on here?"

The salmon-haired boy jumps as her sharp voice slices through his distracted thoughts; he's relieved to see that her piercing glower has moved past him, right over a paralysed Gray still choke-holding Natsu, onto Gajeel. "U-uh..."

_Oh, shit_, Natsu thinks. _If_ _Gajeel's stuttering, then she's _definitely_ passed scary-angry right into imminent-doom territory._

"Natsu, I thought I could trust you with this mission." The disappointment in her voice makes him cringe. Catching his slight flinch, Erza stands up straighter, her long red hair spilling over her shoulders and falling over her eye again. She doesn't even brush it away. "Now, before I teach you all a lesson, Gajeel, why do I get the feeling..." She pauses, unintentionally dramatic as her eyes ghost over Pantherlily innocently parked behind them. "Did you try to steal a car again?"

"No!" the pierced boy answers a little too quickly.

Erza sighs deeply at his accidental admission. At this point, Natsu's wondering whether he should hide behind the stripper, make a run for it, or choose a funeral playlist. His terrifying friend then looks to Gray, her eyes narrowing. "Who are you?" she barks.

"G-Gray!" he yelps immediately, both his and Natsu's arms dropping obediently to their sides.

"Were you and Natsu...?" Her eyes narrow further, and she hisses, "Were you _fighting_?"

"W-we wer- _Ow_!" He turns to glare at the rose-haired boy beside him, who doesn't even try to hide the fact that he just pinched Gray's side. Instead, he looks at Gray with imploring eyes, an obvious message in them; _lie if you want to live_. "No, we were uh- um, we were- that is, it was a- a, uh... game?"

For the first time in his life, Natsu prays.

"A game?" Erza takes a step forward and Levy has to fight a whimper. "What were you playing?"

"Uh, um-" Juvia pipes up. Erza's gaze snaps to her, her eyes bearing an uncanny resemblance to a hawk. The blunette gulps. Natsu can almost _hear_ her mentally chant '_for Gray-sama'_. "They were play... wrestling?"

"Is that so? Gajeel."

"Yes?" His snap to attention doesn't even make Levy giggle.

"Truth?"

"Of course, would I lie to you?"

"Did you try to steal a car again?"

"...I might lie to you, Erza. Sorry." He scratches the back of his head guiltily. "It had a scratch on it; you know me and my scratches."

"Gajeel, you idiot," the pink-haired boy mumbles under his breath.

Erza looks around, her gaze moving from Gajeel, passing over Jellal who Natsu can only assume she still hasn't noticed yet, to Levy – whose arm slowly withers under the glare – to Gray and Natsu – both of whom give uneasy grins – to Juvia, who manages a weak smile – and very finally coming to rest on the unconscious blonde on the ground.

She blinks. "Who is she?" No-one answers. "Natsu."

"Aye! She's the princ- _Ow_!" He recovers startlingly well from Gray's quick elbow jab. "She's _Lucy_, she bumped her head." Erza cocks an eyebrow, causing Natsu to rub the back of his head sheepishly. "Twice."

"Who did it?" Her voice is dangerously quiet.

Natsu answers with impressive speed. "Gajeel!"

"What!? Stupid hothead! Now, Erza, don't look at me that way..."

A sudden movement behind Gajeel catches Erza's attention, distracting her. "Who's that behind you?"

"Uh..." Jellal swears under his breath and steps out. "Hi," he says awkwardly, looking not quite at Erza but in her general direction.

Erza's reaction to his appearance surprises everyone – she hastily steps back, trips over her own feet and falls flat on her butt with a girlish cry.

"D-Did she just..." Natsu stutters.

"Like a... a _girl_..." Gajeel falters.

"K-kinda cute..." Gray stammers.

Jellal's torn between helping her up and giving her the finger. "I'm not _that_ ugly," he whines, completely serious.

Erza just stares up at him, her eyes wide. The rose-haired teen recognises that expression... "Erza, do you know him?"

She takes a while to answer, and in that time, Jellal's made up his mind. He walks towards her, hand half-way outstretched; Erza just squeals and moves away from him frantically, still on her hands and butt.

"Uh..." Jellal looks uncomfortably from the three frozen guys, to his two clueless sisters, to the unconscious girl on the floor behind him, to the panicking one in front. "Should I cover my face, or...?"

"N-No, you-" Erza mutters absent-mindedly. "Y-You, um- I- I'm, um."

Jellal blinks, bemused. "What?"

Erza squeaks again.

While this goes on, Levy is the first of the gang to un-freeze; she turns and says to Gajeel, "And you said _my_ friends were weird."

_Oh, shit_. Natsu groans mentally, his attention caught by the petite blunette. _First she calls him a girl, then she denies him the car, and now she insults his friends? Does this girl have a guidebook on how to professionally push all of Gajeel's buttons?_

Gajeel doesn't let down, turning to glower down at her fiercely – Natsu is impressed that she doesn't quail at all. "You implyin' something about my friends?"

"Maybe I am," she snaps, narrowing her eyes.

The tall boy's glare grows more intense. "Why don't you say it then?"

"I'm not surprised I have to spell it out for you."

"What the fuck's that supposed to mean!?"

"Don't swear at me!"

"Fuck you!"

"Oh my God!"

Natsu glances around; Erza is still sitting on the tarmac stammering – "I-uh, you, we- Um, th-the..." - and staring at Jellal, who just squirms under her gaze. He looks around half-heartedly for a distraction, his gaze landing on his little sister, who's arguing loudly with Gajeel and actually managing to hold her ground.

Gray also shakes his head a little, snapping out of it, and turns to be met with a frantic looking Juvia.

"Gray-sama's shirt!" she wails, holding up a slightly-dirty t-shirt. "Juvia is sorry, she let it get dirty; Gray-sama, your _shiiirt_!" She then proceeds to burst into tears.

Both Natsu's and Gray's jaws drop.

So while Gray tries to comfort the distraught Juvia, Gajeel and Levy verbally abuse each other and Erza re-lives past trauma through an awkward and clueless Jellal's visage, Natsu takes the opportunity to make a run for it. _Better surviving today and facing Erza's wrath tomorrow than another damned car ride with her_.

His appreciation for everyone's distraction increases as he accidentally trips over Lucy's body not five steps into his escape attempt.

_Whoops. For the third time._

He gets up from where he's sprawled on the ground beside her, his cheeks not red in the slightest because Natsu doesn't do anything as stupid as _blush_. He glances over to Lucy – her expression is completely blank, and the big brother in him suddenly rears its over-protective head. He puts a hand to her face just to check, you know, that she's still alive because you never know, and besides, it's never failed him with his two younger brothers.

He grimaces when his fingers brush her soft skin; she's cold to the touch.

He takes a deep breath through his nose. _Sorry, Gajeel. Fairy Tail it is. _Getting up – while shooting a look at everyone to realise that they're all wrapped up in their own business – he leans down and scoops the girl up in his arms. _God, but walking with her on my back is not gonna be fun_, he grumbles mentally.

His gaze is firmly _averted_ from her chest, in case you were wondering.

The pink-haired teen scrambles for a bit when he realises that he's stuck with a dead-to-the-world girl in his arms, six distracted companions and no idea where to go.

He curses. "Uh, guys?"

He's not surprised there's no response. Gajeel and Levy's insults have grown steadily worse, their voices rising in volume and their arms gesturing around wildly as they yell at each other; Juvia is sobbing into Gray's arms and seeming to have a lovely time of it; Erza is _still_ stammering, her ass firmly planted on the ground; Jellal has given up and is also sitting across from her with his chin in his hand, waiting for her to calm down enough to tell him if he needs to cover his face or not.

"Guys," Natsu tries again.

Nothing.

He clears his throat loudly. "Sorry, Princess Lucy," he murmurs at the girl in his arms, and then goes on to roar at the top of his lungs, "_Shut the flamin' hell up_!"

Although he manages to catch everyone's attention – except Erza, who can't seem to tear her eyes from Jellal nor manage to mute her stuttering – all Natsu can seem to focus on is that Lucy still doesn't stir.

Worry coils deeper into his stomach.

"I'm going to Fairy Tail. If you wanna come, uh... You guys don't know what that is, uh... Well, you know, I'm tired and hungry and she's half-dead-" he raises the blonde in his arms -"so catch ya later."

The pink-haired teen starts shuffling towards the street Erza came from. From behind him, he hears Levy's exasperated voice whine, "Oh, _now_ you shut up."

Natsu can't help his smirk as he almost _hears_ Gajeel's fury.

"You know what, hothead? I don't even give a fuck, so Fairy Tail it is." Out of the corner of his vision, he sees a black mane of hair with a boy attached to it stoop down and pull (a still stammering) red-head to her feet. Natsu turns, Lucy's hair brushing his muscular arm as he does, and grins at Gajeel.

The pierced boy scowls and grumbles, "I need a fuckin' drink."

* ~ [**FMLB**] ~ *

The seven teenagers reach the popular bar of Magnolia known as Fairy Tail at approximately 2:08 in the morning.

_2:08 in the motherfucking morning_.

At this point, Natsu wants nothing more than to collapse onto his bed and snore to his heart's content – the poor guy's been pushing a god-knows-how-heavy pick-up truck across the city for four hours. He _deserves_ those snores.

But there's one big glaring roadblock in this plan, and her blonde head is currently resting on his pillow.

He stares at her, and almost wants to cry. _Life's just not fair, is it?_

Natsu hears the door to his bedroom creak and he jumps – or really, just shivers in an exhausted fashion – and turns to be met with a sight that still manages to startle him.

His youngest brother, a hyperactive six year old with a fierce loyalty to Natsu, stands in the doorway rubbing his bleary eyes and pouting. His blue 'Tom and Jerry' themed pyjamas are wrinkled, and the paw of his black cat plushie trails on the floor. "Natshu?" Happy mumbles.

Without hesitation, the pink-haired boy walks towards the young child; he places a hand protectively over his fluffy blue hair and crouches down so he's at eye level with the little boy. "Why you still up, Happy? You should have been asleep hours ago." He keeps his voice gentle and subdued, ruffling his brother's hair lovingly.

Happy gives an adorable yawn. "Um, I woke up when Gajeel bumped my door." Natsu makes a mental note to punch the pierced boy later as he yawns back. Happy continues, "Natshu, there's a bunch of blue people in the living room."

"Yeah, Happy, they're my new buddies. They're all having a sleep-over here toni-" He stops as another tear-jerking yawn comes over him. "You know what? I'll tell you in the morning." He takes the hand not holding the toy and leads Happy out the door. The hallway is dark except for the dim light of a lamp in the living room, which glows quietly and spills into the hallway, reflecting off the glass of the photos on the opposite wall.

Natsu leads Happy across the narrow hallway into his own room, stepping quietly so as to not wake up Romeo or his adoptive father, and pads across the soft carpet to Happy's bed. "Come on, in you go." Happy obediently hops up with his big brother's help, and wiggles into the blankets. Out of habit, Natsu kneels down beside him and gives a kiss first to the plushie clutched in Happy's arms, then to his brother's nose and finally to his forehead. It's their handy dandy pre-emptive nightmare-vanquishing ritual. "G'night," he murmurs into Happy's blue hair.

Happy squirms a bit, and with eyes screwed shut, he pulls the blanket up over his head, creating a make-shift fort for himself. Only when he's comfortable and warm does a tired muffled voice mumble, "Goodnight, Natshu. Love you."

Natsu smiles gently, and gets up from his knees. "You too. Go to sleep."

Only once the pink-haired teen has shut the door behind himself and listened to make sure Happy stays in bed does he allow his shoulders to sag as he slumps in exhaustion. He tiredly makes his way to a storage cupboard to fetch blankets so he can spend the night on his bedroom floor.

He's too sleepy to even complain.

Once Erza had snapped out of her dazed stupor, she completely ignored Jellal to the bemusement of everyone. Instead of explaining, she calmly informed her two friends that unless they made an effort to help their 'new friends' – a phrase Gajeel had been quick to rebuke – Erza would confiscate both of their game consoles and priceless collection of games.

By confiscate, they both knew she meant smash to pieces.

And so started Gajeel's attempts at fixing the stupid pick-up truck for about an hour; it was about nine o'clock when he finally confessed that he needed to show it to his Dad.

There was no point in giving the blue-haired clan and the stripper a lift – both Jellal and the pierced boy refused to leave the spot unless Pantherlily went with them, and so Gajeel drove his Dad's car back to his place and ran back, by which time it was half past nine.

Ten o'clock came and went with arguments over who would do what; in the end, all the boys (and Erza) pushed, Juvia steered, Levy carried Gajeel's tools and Lucy's lack of activity continued to worry Natsu like in itch.

Now the stripper and the blue-clan are all camping out in the living room under the watchful – and by watchful, he means closed and dreaming – eyes of Gajeel and Erza. He can't even hear anyone talking, so he's guessing they've fallen asleep already. A loud snore – Gray, perhaps – confirms his thoughts.

Natsu closes his bedroom door behind him with his foot, his arms laden with poufy blankets. He gives his bed a longing look, but Igneel and Macao taught him well enough for him to put into practice what his gut is telling him; the injured helpless pretty girl gets the bed. It's like, _the law_.

His eyes do _not_ wander to her chest, if that's what you're thinking. And he does _not_ get flustered and drop the blankets on the floor, _nor_ does his gaze snap to her face as he tries to distract himself.

Her cinnamon eyes are wide open and scrutinising him.

"Oh, shit." Natsu feels his face go up in flames.

She doesn't seem to notice though, instead wincing and closing her eyes gently. "Dragon-boy, I think my head might explode," she says weakly, the rest of her body unmoving.

Natsu, unable to stay in the room, manages to choke out, "...Ice-pack" before scrambling out the doorway and heading straight for the kitchen, his eyes glued to the floor the whole way. When he grabs an ice-pack from the freezer, he spends a second or two just pressing it to his heated cheeks.

_It's because I'm tired_, he reasons with himself as he makes his way back to his room. _I can't be held responsible when I'm tired. Besides, I'm not a pervert; it's definitely exhaustion._

When he gets in, she's sitting up and gingerly touching the back of her skull. Her chestnut eyes flash to him and she gives him a weak grin.

_Maybe three quarters exhaustion_, he amends. "Here you go," he mumbles, holding it up as some sort of offering of apology. She takes it without hesitation, and lies back down on the bed, her head resting right beside the cold bag. She closes her eyes and before he can even move away from the bed, her breathing regulates and he's pretty sure she's fallen asleep again.

He stretches, yawning, and goes to pick up the mess of blankets by the door; in the end, he just kicks them to the other side of the room – stripping his shirt off as he does – and collapses onto the bundle as quietly as he can. He rests his head on his arm, his arm on his stomach and just when he's settling down to sleep does he notice that Lucy is lying in bed facing him with open eyes.

He blinks up at her stupidly. "You okay?" he whispers.

She doesn't answer, just continues to stare at him speculatively.

"Well..." He clears his throat awkwardly. "Uh, goodnight." The pink-haired boy closes his eyes, a bit too aware of her eyes on him. It takes him a few moments, but he eventually makes the decision to flip over so he's not facing her.

Silence settles in the room except for their breathing, and he lets out a feeble sigh.

Just when he's almost drifted into a dreamless slumber, an innocent voice snaps him awake again. "_Natshuuu_."

He doesn't even turn around, scowling with his eyes shut. "Happy, please go to your roo-"

"I'm not happy, I'm sad and cold. _Natshuuu_."

The teenage boy's eyes snap open and he jolts upright, turning to face Lucy, who blinks at him. "W-wait, uh... _you're_ cold?" She nods slowly, her head still on the pillow – some of her blonde hair falls over her face and she blows at it lazily, failing to move it. He looks at her for a moment. "Do you... want my blanket?"

She nods again, a cute pout on her lips. "I'm really cold."

A small smirk on his face – _she's kind of adorable_ – the boy slowly struggles to his feet and drags his makeshift bed to his real one. "Here you go, Princess Lucy." He half-heartedly hoists it up and settles it over her body. When he's done, she looks to have already fallen asleep _again_.

_Like I should be_, a petulant voice in his mind whines. He agrees wholeheartedly and shuffles over to his spot on the floor, slumping down unceremoniously and trying to get comfortable. A glance at his alarm clock tells him that it is now 2:53. He makes a mental note not to check it again.

He doesn't even care that he's on the floor, his only concern being to get to sleep already.

"Natsu."

_Pretend you're asleep_, he thinks to himself, the chivalrous gentleman in him already snoring the night away.

"_Natshuuu_."

No matter how hard he tries, he can't ignore that pleading whine. "Stupid princess," he growls to himself, his back to her. Then, in a louder voice, he asks, "Hmm?"

"I'm still cold."

He grunts, rolling over onto his back and stretching his arms above him, too comfortable to get up. "Mkay."

"This ice-pack is really cold."

"S'great, Luce." He can't even say her full name anymore, he is too goddamn tired and she really needs to shut up.

"Natsu, I'm freezing!"

"Hmm..."

She's silent for a moment and a sweet smile or relief begins to form on his face. _Finally... Some peace..._

"Arent you cold, Natsu?"

"Fuckin' hell! Just go sleep already, would you!?" He hisses at her, sitting up again to glare at Lucy. She blinks at him innocently with her head raised, still laying down.

"I need to steal your body heat. Come here, give it to me," she moans, letting her head fall back to the pillow. "I'm turning into an ice cube, dragon-boy..."

_You know what? The stripper can yell all he wants in the morning._ Finally giving in, Natsu scrambles to his feet, stomps to the bed, throws the covers off the blonde girl and gets in beside her. _That's right, Gray. I'm sleeping with your sister._

He yawns and pulls the blanket over the two of them. Lucy faces him with a soft smile, and says, "I'm gonna steal your body heat now."

"Have fun," he grumbles, closing his eyes and trying to ignore the fact that she smells kind of nice because Natsu doesn't notice that kind of stuff, you know? She's almost – but not quite – touching his bare chest. Not that he noticed that either. "Sleep, Luce. Sleep."

She giggles sleepily at his exasperated tone, closing her eyes as well. "You know, I still think my head might explode."

"Just don't get any brains on me, then."

"No promises." She yawns. "Goodnight."

He grunts, motionless.

She clears her throat expectantly, swivelling to lie on her back, and gently nudges him with her arm.

"Night," he amends, snuggling into the blankets. It's warm and she's soft and every breath smells sweet and damn it, he just wants to sleep already and he's sorry, Gray, but he was too damn tired to argue, and it's okay anyway because he's not a snuggler (he thinks) and he wouldn't do something like that in his sleep with a kind-of stranger, right?

Snuggler or not, exhaustion quickly slows his thought process. His head lolls off his arm onto her pillow.

She's sleeping.

His arm snakes round her waist and pulls her closer.

Now he is too.

* * *

**AN: **I know the pace of this story is slow - I think I just naturally write snail-paced stuff, and _that_ is one of the reasons I'm worried that this is going to end up being like, a 200k piece... O_O  
This chapter was definitely the most fun to write so far. You have no idea how much I enjoyed giving Erza a panic attack and making life hard for Natsu. Please let me know your thoughts if you have the time; any constructive criticism is also highly appreciated! **I respond to every review with a teaser for the next chapter.  
**No promises for when the next chapter will be up, but I'll try be speedy.

(By the way, there are two Lion King references hidden in this chapter. I wonder if anyone noticed. xD)

* * *

Next time in _Fairies, Misfits & Little Brats_, we have **5: Welcome to the World of the Living**!


	5. Welcome to the World of the Living

**AN:** Whoops, this took ages. I was _really_ sick. D: You know, I finished editing this chapter less than an hour before uploading it, and less than five hours before I fly away on my holiday - that's dedication, that is. ;)  
I think this is the longest chapter so far...? Enjoy! (Guess what? Lucy has finally woken up. teehee~)

AND CAN I JUST HUG ALL OF YOU THAT REVIEW BECAUSE I LOOK FORWARD TO THEM SO MUCH SO THANK YOU. (caps lock off)

Right, on you go. :3

* * *

_**Fairies, Misfits & Little Brats**_ by Amenah

**5 - Welcome to the World of the Living  
**

* * *

_5__th__ June 2012_

_Previously_

"Hi."

A male voice – a _nice_ male voice – brings my attention back to the present and I feel the blood drain from my face as I realise who it belongs to.

_Shit_. Please, no.

I screw my eyes shut in an attempt to pass it off as a dream - please, please, _please_ let this not be real - but to my mortification, when I open my eyes, I'm still in bed with a half-naked (_please_ let him just be _half_-naked) teenage boy.

I look up as slowly as I can get away with; dread joins the nausea that's coiling violently in the pit of my stomach as my gaze passes over the expanse of lightly-tanned skin taut across his broad shoulders, over his relaxed neck, his defined jaw, a sharp-toothed grin, dark slanted eyes, and – _I knew it_ – salmon-pink hair sticking up in all directions.

Natsu chuckles deep in his throat. "Morning, princess. How's your head?"

Holy shit.

Gray is going to _kill_ me.

* * *

I stare at him, unblinking. He happily meets my gaze, a slight smirk on his lips and his arm still draped lazily across my waist.

After a moment or so of silent eye contact, he clears his throat awkwardly. "Is your head, uh... okay? You bumped it pretty hard..." He pauses, looking guilty. "Both times." I stare at him for a little longer and he squirms uncomfortably under my scrutiny, his gaze drifting up to the ceiling. "Can you not... stare so much?"

Can I not stare?

_Can. I. Not. Stare!?_

Screaming, I wrench his arm from my body; pushing the blanket off me with my other hand, I leap from the bed (elbowing his stomach as hard as I can in the process) and glance around frantically. Without wasting so much as a second, I rush for the first door I see and slam it shut behind me.

I lean my back against it, panting and holding one hand to my racing heart. "Holy shit. Holy crap. Oh my holy crap." I keep this chant up until my heartbeat slows down, keeping my eyes clenched shut. "Holy fucking _crap_."

Okay, Lucy, worst case scenario: you slept with him. Which obviously isn't the case. Second worst case scenario: he kidnapped you and is now holding you hostage for a ransom against your will.

That is _definitely_ a possibility.

Holy shit. I can't believe I've been kidnapped. I'm going to die. Oh my God, I'm going to _die_!

No no no, deep breaths; think about this logically, Lucy. Stay calm and think about it _logically_.

So I've been kidnapped, no big deal, right? I can pay him, can't I? I can – I don't know, I can cook for him? Wait, I can escape through a window! _Find a window_! But what if he's waiting for me on the other side?

"Hey, what was that for?" His petulant groan sounds muffled through the door, and it halts me in my tracks.

"Wh-wha-" I stop, clear my throat and try again. "I-I can pay you! I'll give you the money, just please let me go!"

There's silence on the other side of the door. That's not supposed to happen; the kidnapping murdering terrifying bad guy is never supposed to _not answer_. I keep my eyes squeezed shut, too scared to open them.

"I can, um, I can," I add on, trying to convince him. "I'm a good cook! I'll make anything! Please don't kill me and-" I gulp "-eat me..."

Because cooking always saves the day – _fantastically_ handled, Lucy.

That leaves the window option. I snap my eyes open; my gaze darts around what seems to be a bathroom only for me to realise that the only window is too small for Levy to fit through, never mind _me_.

Oh my God._ Levy_.

What have the kidnappers done to Levy? And Jellal and Juvia and Gray? _What'll I do if they've eaten Gray!?_

A knock on the door snaps me out of it; I run and press my back to it again lest my kidnapper try to break in. _Bastard ate my brother, like hell I'm letting him in!_ When he knocks again, I fall to the floor with a choked whimper. I can't believe this is happening to me – I'm too young to die! There are so many things I haven't done yet! I've yet to publish a novel, or become a model, or be self-sustaining, or- I mean, I haven't even met my fans ye- _I don't have any fans yet!_ I _can't_ die!

I've almost reached the point of uncontrollable hyperventilation when a familiar voice calls through the door, "Lucy?"

"Gray!? You're alive!" I twist and clutch the door-handle above my head desperately. "Gray, help me! Quickly, before he returns with backup! Tell Father I've been kidnapped! And beat Pinky up for me, I'm too scared to- oh, but be careful, he could try to eat y-"

"I'm not that easy to beat up!" an indignant voice I recognise to be Natsu's pipes up.

"Go, Gray! Do it now! Before he kills me with his cannibalistic cruelty!" I whimper, my hands falling by my side as I scramble away from the door to the centre of the bathroom.

After a silent moment, the handle twists and the door slowly clicks open. Half of me doesn't want to look – what if I see Gray with a knife sticking up from his heart, his hand extended towards me as he desperately tries to save his dear little sister even in the cold clutches of dea-

"Oh."

I blink rapidly.

Juvia is standing at the door with an amused expression while a confused Gray stands beside Natsu, who's squinting at me like I'm crazy. "Uh... So... You guys were, uh-" I clear my throat awkwardly "-kidnapped too, huh?"

Gray's eyes are round and worried as he watches me like a hawk. "Do all fiction writers have this kind of imagination?" he asks warily. He's wearing the same clothes he was yesterday, although his hair is wet. He showered?

"Um," I stutter, still perplexed, still kneeling in the middle of a stranger's bathroom and staring, dumbfounded, at my twin.

"Juvia heard you scream," the older girl explains, walking towards me and helping me to my feet. "Gray-sama and Juvia rushed here as fast as we could, but Natsu told us you, um-"

"Went batshit on me," Natsu supplies as Juvia trips over her words; his eyes are wide as he continues to eye me up cautiously.

Juvia nods with a straight face. "Yes, uh... _that_."

Sudden relief leaves my knees a little weak, and I lean on her for support. "So w-we're not kidnapped?"

Gray makes a choked noise of disbelief as Juvia giggles, "No, Lucy. We aren't kidnapped."

"And, um," I falter, glancing at Natsu, who's turned away from me, his shoulders shaking from the force of what appears to be silent laughter. I purse my lips, feeling stupid. "He's not a bad guy?"

"He's an idiot, but he's not gonna _kill_ us," Gray supplies.

"I'm not an idiot, idiot," Natsu snaps at him, amusement cut short. He turns to face me again and I'm suddenly very aware that he is indeed very, very _shirtless_. And has a defined six-pack. And messy bed hair. And a really adorable grin...

"But," I say quickly, glancing away and hoping he didn't notice me checking him out, "that still doesn't explain why he was sleeping with me."

"Wait," Gray says quickly, "what?"

I blink as Juvia tenses under my arm. "What?"

"What did you just say?"

"What about it?"

"N-no, repeat what you just said!"

"What?"

"What what?"

"_What are you talking about_?"

"What you just said!" I watch, confused as his incredulous gaze snaps from me to Natsu, who looks just as bewildered as I am. "Repeat what you said, Lucy!"

"Wh... _why_?" I narrow my eyes in suspicion.

"Just do it!" he snaps.

"Woah, okay! Sorry," I mumble as I struggle to remember. "I just said that, uh..." The phrase comes to me in an instant and I grin in victory. "It doesn't explain why Natsu and I slept together, that's all!"

There's an awkward moment as I realise simultaneously that I could have worded it better and that it's new information to both Juvia and Gray. "N-Not like _tha_-"

"How dare you!?" Gray cuts me off, shouting as he jumps at a flustered Natsu, who side-steps out of the way like he was expecting it.

"She said she was cold," he defends himself, although I don't miss the hint of pink in his cheeks. Aw, he looks so cute when he's pouting...

Gray's fist connects with his face, halting my admiration. "Yeah, I'm sure you warmed her right up! _You're dead_!"

"Gray!" I yell. "Stop! What are you doing!? You can't just..." I trail off as Natsu flips Gray over onto the floor and jumps on him, fists raised. "Y-you... shouldn't fight..."

Juvia sighs exasperatedly behind me. "You okay, Lucy?" she asks me. I turn to see her bright smile.

"I, uh-" I glance back at the two boys wrestling on the floor. "I'm fine, but shouldn't we, um-" I wince slightly as Gray's foot collides with Natsu's toned abdomen, and doesn't even elicit a flinch "-stop them or something?"

Juvia shakes her head. "It was exactly like this last night, too. They don't exactly get along," she explains. "Natsu's bullying of Gray-sama aside, how's your head?"

"Actually, now that you mention it, it kind of hurts." I raise a hand to the back of my head and grimace when the pressure of my thumb creates a stabbing sensation. "A lot. What happened last night? The last thing I remember is..." I trail off as I remember it all over again. "Oh my God." I drop my head to my hands in embarrassment.

_Lucy Heartfilia: alcohol virgin, perhaps, but kiss virgin no longer._

Juvia giggles, well aware of what I'm blushing over. "Levy and I were just talking about it." I feel my spirits drop further. "Anyway, after _that_," she smiles wickedly, "you hit your head again and passed out for the night; you really had us worried, Lucy. And Gajeel couldn't fix Pantherlily so he, Natsu and Erza helped us push it here and by then it was around two in the morning, so we all just stayed over. This is Natsu's place, actually."

"Huh," I murmur, glancing again at my brother. "I can't believe I gave my first kiss to..." Natsu squirms violently as a Gray yelling something about 'stolen innocence' holds him in a chokehold. "To, uh... _that_."

"Perhaps I should call Erza," Juvia speculates, eyeing them. "Poor Gray-sama – he's so kind to put up with Natsu's harassment."

I can't quite wrap my head around her logic. "I wouldn't really call that 'putting up with', Juvia." She just _hmms_ and dodges Gray's shirt as it flies over her head. "Who's Erza, by the way? I kind of remember Gajeel, but-" I pause as I realise Juvia's not listening; her large ultramarine eyes are locked to my twin's naked torso. I cringe – Lord knows what she sees in him. In a louder voice, I repeat, "Who's Erza?"

As soon as the name leaves my lips, a confident female voice from behind me answers, "I am." I turn, as do the other three – Gray and Natsu frozen in their places – to see a curvaceous girl about my age with striking scarlet hair and eyes so brown they almost look a purplish grey striding towards me. She's dressed in a short white skirt and a matching high collared top.

She holds out a hand to me, a welcoming smile on her lips. "My name is Erza Scarlet. I'm eighteen years old, and I live across the hall. I helped push you here. Well, your truck here. _Well_, J-Jellal's truck here." She pretends she didn't stammer on his name.

"Uh..." I take her hand hesitantly; her grip is firm and warm. I grin back uneasily and her smile widens. "Lucy Heartfilia, sixteen. I live... across... uh, from my neighbour?"

Despite my anything-but-stellar introduction, she smiles. "Pleasure. Is there anything you need?"

"I, um..." I scratch the back of my head out of habit and wince when it worsens the ache. Erza catches my grimace and her smile immediately drops, her face morphing into an expression so guilty I'm taken aback.

"Your head! Of course! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" She brings her other hand to mine and clasps it in despair. "Had I arrived earlier, you wouldn't have sustained such severe injuries. I've completely let you down, I know I have - _please_, hit me! I'll never let it happen again!" I stare at her, open-mouthed, as she continues in her completely unnecessary heartfelt apology. "And I apologise on behalf of Natsu, he's just an idi- Oi, you!" Her gaze slides to the pink-haired boy (who still isn't wearing a shirt – I mean, not that I noticed! He just... He _isn't_...); she drops my hand and starts stomping towards him. "Apologise to Lucy!"

"Aye!" I watch, dumbfounded, as Natsu rushes forward and salutes. "Lucy, I apologise!"

"Introduce yourself!"

I take a moment to take in my surroundings as Erza disappears into a third door leading from his room which I can only assume to be his wardrobe; this bedroom has rich maroon walls, and all the furniture is made of a warm-coloured wood save the cream leather spinning chair tucked into a desk. It's surprisingly stylish – minimalistic, but homey at the same time.

"This is my room," Natsu informs me in an amused voice, catching me sizing up his bedroom. "Natsu Dragneel. Seventeen. Kidnapper extraordinaire."

I can't help but giggle at his smirk. "Nice to meet you."

I glance around again. No posters, no pictures, no overpriced guitars or piles of books – it's a _nice_ room, but it's not very... I mean, I'd have guessed someone like _Natsu_ would have a different room to this, that's all. It's just- Come on, what teenage boy doesn't have suggestive cut-outs pinned over his bed? Or is that just Gray being a creeper?

And seriously, what seventeen year old is that _toned_? I mean, not that I'm complaining or anything - and not that I'm _looking_ - but he must work out a_ lot_. I know Gray trains for three hours a day minimum, and he and Natsu have the same lean, muscular build.

Natsu's charcoal gaze catches mine and he beams a genuine smile. "I'm not gonna eat you, by the way," he teases.

I laugh awkwardly. "Yeah, thanks for the newsflash."

"Thought I'd let you know."

"I appreciate that."

Our introduction is cut short by Erza, who reappears suddenly and shoves a bundle of clothes into his arms. "Get dressed. Breakfast in ten minutes."

"Aye!" he shoots back, grasping the clothes and walking past me to the bathroom. As he passes me, he throws me another wide grin. "Welcome to Fairy Tail."

"I- um- thank you?" He closes the door behind him, leaving me in confusion. I turn my gaze back to Gray, who's still sitting on the ground, shirtless, while Juvia fusses over him. He glances up and catches my eye.

"You okay?" he asks me.

"Definitely." I smile at him. "Some painkillers and I'll be good as new."

He nods. "Cool." He takes the shirt Juvia is brandishing towards him and struggles to put it on as quickly as possible. I shake my head at him; hopeless boy.

"Lucy, come with me," Erza exclaims suddenly, grabbing me by the wrist and leading me out of the room. I follow without resistance, taking note of my unfamiliar surroundings; it looks like we're in an apartment of some sort.

She leads me through a hallway and straight into a joint living room and kitchen. The back wall of the living room is dominated by a glass door that bathes the beige walls with sunlight and illuminates the whole room. Outside, I can see a small terrace, just big enough for two deck chairs and a tiny coffee table.

Two familiar heads of blue are visible over the back of a cream sofa, a muted TV sitting in the background as they talk quietly to each other. They glance up as they hear us come in; Erza goes straight for the kitchen as I make a beeline for my friends.

"Jellal, Levy," I laugh in relief. "So everyone's here, that's good."

Both their faces split into wide grins at the sight of me.

"Lu-chan!" Levy leaps up, offering me her seat as she perches on the armrest of the couch. "It's already twelve thirty; I thought you'd never wake up!"

"Wait, seriously?" I look around worriedly for a clock as I sit down beside Jellal. "Why didn't you guys wake me? This isn't even my house!"

She giggles. "We tried to but Erza wouldn't have it. She insisted you needed to _heal_."

I sigh, shaking my head. "I'm fine, really. She shouldn't make such a fuss."

As if on cue, Erza places a glass of water and two pills on the glass coffee table in front of me. She kneels on the floor and hands me a plate of sliced apples. Smiling sweetly, she tucks a strand of scarlet hair behind her ear. "You must be hungry."

"Really, Erza," I mutter, flustered, "you're too kind! I can take care of myself, you don't need to-"

"Nonsense," she shakes her head. "You're a guest here. Besides, it was partially my fault you were injured so it's my responsibility to ensure your recovery. Anyway," she adds on as I open my mouth to argue, "I've been waiting for you to wake up." She glances down at the plate on my lap. "So _eat_."

Giving in, I pick up a piece of apple and smile at her sincerely. "Thank you."

"Yeah, thank you, Erza, really," Levy pipes up. "Gajeel said last night it was you who made him come help us. I'm not sure what we would have done without you."

"Probably just called someone else," Jellal finally enters the conversation. When Levy turns to glare lightly at her older brother, he backtracks, "But thanks anyway. Thought that counts."

I frown in confusion – _someone's_ being negative – as I chew on the sweet fruit. "You okay, Jellal?"

He smiles at me, his hazel eyes bright. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

I shrug noncommittally and go back to eating. "Nevermind."

Levy's expression clears and she turns back to me as I watch Erza twist her hands in her lap distractedly. "Lu-chan, do you want me to explain what happened? You must be confused."

I tear my gaze from the scarlet-haired girl and give my friend a relieved smile. "Yes, please."

"Sure," she says happily – _too_ happily. _Uh oh.._. "Okay, so you bumped your head after you kissed Natsu-" I hear Jellal chuckle quietly from behind me as Erza ducks her head to hide her smile "-not that it meant anything, we know!" Levy adds on. She's also smirking, though.

I scowl in humiliation at the plate in my lap. "Blame the concussion, please," I mumble dejectedly.

"We know," Jellal says knowingly from beside me, "but that doesn't make it any less funny. That was your first kiss, right?"

I groan as Erza gasps. "Really? You gave Natsu your first kiss?" I drop my head to my palms as a way of admission, and she lets out a low whistle. "You poor girl."

Levy, however, laughs. "Look on the bright side, Lu-chan! At least Gray can't tease you about it anymore!"

"Nah, I'm sure he won't ever bring it up again, considering it was his _archenemy_ that you kissed," Jellal adds in helpfully. "What a lovely little sister." The three of them laugh at my expense and I feel myself blush in mortification. I keep my hands to my face to hide it.

"Shut up, you guys," I mumble into my palms.

"Make me, princess," Levy giggles in a deep-voiced imitation of Natsu.

"I will," Jellal joins in, pretending to be me. Erza snickers at the high-pitched voice he puts on. I notice Erza's talking normally now instead of the formal tone she had earlier – she was probably just nervous, and I can't help but find that endearing. But I'd like her even more if she'd stop laughing at me.

"Why am I friends with you people?" I whine. "You're all so mean!"

"Now you're even starting to _sound_ like Natsu," Erza says thoughtfully. "He's always calling me and Gajeel mean."

"Wow, _thanks_, Erza. Just what I needed to hear," I grumble morosely. "You guys are _awful_."

"Aw, it's not so bad, Lu-chan!" Levy pats me on the back, half-comforting, half-mocking. "Nobody's first kiss is ever perfect. Take Gray for example! His wasn't anything special."

"Mine's as far away from perfect as I think it gets, Levy," I sigh, looking up again. I place the plate on the glass coffee table and pick up the cup and pills. "At least Gray doesn't have to face her again."

Levy sighs. "If it means anything, I'd rather have _your_ first kiss than _mine_."

Jellal splutters, "Y-you've kissed someone!?"

I smirk at his overreaction. "What, so the big brother's not so teasing when it's _his_ sister, is he?"

"Who? When?" he demands to know, ignoring me completely. "_Who_!? Why didn't you tell me? You're only sixteen, you're too young!"

Levy snorts. "You're not even a whole year older than me."

"Eleven months is pretty much a year, Levy. More importantly, who did you kiss? Who was it!? Did you two know about this?"

The scarlet-haired teen jumps as Jellal rounds on her unexpectedly. "Why on earth would _I_ know about it?"

A flustered Jellal just stammers some more. "I-I... I'll kill him," he declares to no-one in particular, nodding at some plan formulating in his mind.

Levy watches him, amused, as he works himself into a panic. "I was _seven_, Jellal. No need to go all crazy. It was Jet, actually; he and Droy were arguing about who cared more about me-" I snort; nothing's changed, then "-and Jet stole the book I was reading to prove his point. I asked for it back and he said only if I kissed him." She giggles at the memory. "Me being the little prostitute I was, agreed. Then Droy got jealous and kissed me straight after." She laughs, shaking her head. "So typical."

"That shouldn't count – you weren't even a decade old and I'm nearly two," I grumble. "Erza, comfort me. How was _your_ first kiss?"

"Wh-what? Me?" Unprepared for the question, she squirms uncomfortably before changing her position so she's sitting cross-legged instead of on her knees. I take the pills as she wrings her hands again and looks anywhere but at us, ignoring the three curious gazes on her. "I-I don't really remember."

Levy scoffs sceptically. "_Really_?"

Erza shrugs; she looks distracted again, like she's thinking something over. "Jellal, how was _your_ first kiss?" She looks up and pierces him with an unreadable expression. Both Levy and I look over to the blue-haired boy, who shrugs good-naturedly, not seeming to mind the question.

"I don't know if I've had it."

Levy answers immediately. "You have, I walked in on it."

"Really?" Jellal asks curiously, leaning forward. "When? No, wait, who?"

Erza gives Jellal a weird look, an indecipherable emotion in dark eyes. "How can you not _know_?"

Jellal shrugs again, glancing at the red-head. "I might have forgotten."

She cocks an eyebrow in disbelief. "You're kidding, right?"

"I have gaps in my memory," he explains. Erza manages to look both dubious and interested at the same time. "I got in an accident when I was younger, was in the hospital for a while. Got a nasty scar too, that's why I have this-" he lightly brushes the reddish tattoo bordering his right eye with his fingers "-it's to cover it up. Anyway, they gave me some weird drugs by accident." He grins crookedly. "Screwed up my brain."

"He's exaggerating," Levy rolls her eyes. Erza's dark eyes flash to her hazel ones. "He just forgot about most of his time in the hospital, and a couple months prior to the accident. And it's coming back too, you know," she continues, tucking a stray strand of her messy blue hair behind her ear. "He remembers the fire and everything now. Right?"

He nods when Levy throws him a questioning glance. "Everything but the stay in the hospital itself, actually."

"Yeah, I've always wondered why that is," Levy ponders.

I glance at Jellal. "Maybe it's because you have like, triggers here, you know? Your family and me and Gray and everyone to remind you. The only reminder of your time in the hospital is Grandine, really, and she was hardly around when you were in there, anyway. I doubt that's enough to overcome the amnesia."

"Yeah," he agrees, eyes narrowed in concentration as he struggles to remember. "She was... quitting, right?"

"We've told you a million times," Levy teases. "If you don't remember by now-"

"Hey, it'll come back eventually," Jellal defends himself. "Patience, Levy. Patience."

"Don't you mean 'my young padawan'?" she scoffs at his tone.

He rolls his eyes at his younger sister. "Dork."

"I'm not a dork!"

As the siblings argue, I turn back to the scarlet-haired teen, but when I glance at her, I freeze. Erza's gazing at the carpet, looking lost in thought as she wrings her hands in her lap almost viciously. Her expression is forlorn.

"Um, Erza?" I prod gently. Jellal and Levy don't notice, still caught up in their light-hearted bickering. "Are... you okay?"

She glances up at the sound of her name, her hair falling over her face as she does. _There are tears in her eyes. _She blinks rapidly before I can do anything, and within two seconds she's smiling at me again, a perfect mask of composure on her face. "Of course," she assures me.

I falter for a moment; the smile doesn't reach her eyes.

She keeps her gaze locked with mine, daring me to look away, to pretend like I don't notice.

"Erza," I start in a quiet voice, but I cut off as she suddenly stands up; Jellal and Levy pause in their conversation to look at her curiously.

She frowns lightly. "I'm going to see what's taking Natsu so long."

Levy gives her an open smile. "Okay." Erza doesn't return it, quickly walking past the couch and out the room.

As soon as she's gone, Jellal leans close to me and whispers in my ear, "When she first saw me, she had a panic attack. I was ignored for the rest of the night."

"What?" I turn to stare at him; his easygoing expression is replaced by a suspicious one, his hazel eyes narrowed.

Levy nods, very suddenly looking anxious as she checks behind her shoulder to see if anyone's listening. "I don't know why, when we asked she just laughed it off. Lu-chan, I think... Maybe she knows Jellal?"

I shake my head in confusion. "I don't have a clue."

Jellal catches my eye. "We should be wary of her."

Both Levy and I blink at him; I laugh uneasily when he doesn't say anything. "Are you kidding? It can't be anything _bad_, just... Maybe she was just having a bad night, or maybe you look like someone she knows, I don't know."

Levy nods, agreeing with me. "She's a good person, Jellal. There's no need to be so paranoid."

He just frowns, looking down at his hands. His cobalt hair falls across his forehead and over his eyes. "I know she's hiding something."

I sigh. "You don't trust _anyone_."

"My gut's telling me she's suspicious. You admitted it yourself, Lucy – there's something going on with that girl."

"_No_, I'm just saying that she _might_ be struggling with something right now. It's not our business, Jellal. It might not even have anything to do with you!"

His frown deepens, doubt written clearly across his face. "I'm telling you, that Erza's hiding something – something _important_."

I laugh uneasily. In the pits of my stomach, I can't help but feel that he's right.

* * *

**AN: **For anyone who's interested, I'm vacationing in Dubai this year, and it shall be _grand_. There _is_ a lot of travel involved, so I'll be trying my best to get more chapters written for you guys before I go back to school. The next chapter probably won't be up for around another **two weeks** - apologies!

So... Lucy is a writer, and apparently, writers automatically jump to the worst possible conclusions in any given situations. ;) How did you find this chapter? It's not as polished as the previous ones have been, but I think it's the best I can do while recovering. You know, it felt sort of awkward to go back to 1st person after a couple chapters in third... & I do apologise for the lack of OTPmoments. I promise you, in the future there shall be _chapters_ dedicated to the adorableness of FTships. However, I actually managed to include plot! *victory dance* I really want to lay a solid foundation before developing characters, and this chapter allowed me to kind-of do that. I also wanted to create some loose threads that can later develop into potential arcs. I wonder if you've spotted any? ;) I so wish Natsu had had more of a spotlight in this chapter, though. *sob* He's so adorableeeee~  
Please let me know your thoughts if you have the time; any constructive criticism is also highly appreciated! **I respond to every review with a teaser for the next chapter.** (...when I get back from Dubai, teehee.)  
Now I'm gonna go finish packing. (I prioritised editing this chapter over packing. Please love me. xD)

(Has anyone noticed that I write a mini-analysis of each chapter at the end? -.-)

* * *

Next time in _Fairies, Misfits & Little Brats_, we have **6: Tales Around the Kitchen Table**!


	6. Tales Around the Kitchen Table

**AN:** Two days into school, less than a week since I've been back from holiday, and here I am hurrying to upload a chapter before we're travelling again. *sigh* This time, it's a wedding - a friend-of-the-family sort of thing. You can bet I'll have fun doing homework during the three hour car journey! -.- (no not really asldkfjsdlf travel sickness~...)

However, that's not what you wanna hear; _you_ want to find out what happens next! And who am I to keep that from you? ;) Enjoy!

* * *

_**Fairies, Misfits & Little Brats**_ by Amenah

**6 - Tales Around the Kitchen Table  
**

* * *

_5__th__ June 2012_

Jellal, Levy and I had still been chatting in the living room when Erza finally dragged in a half-dressed Natsu and demanded that someone start cooking. Twenty minutes and one fire alarm later, here we are sitting around the granite kitchen table of Natsu's – well, Natsu's _family's_ – apartment and tucking into a meagre lunch (or breakfast, in mine and Natsu's case) of cereal, fruit and eggs-on-toast.

I tug at the t-shirt I'm wearing right now, courtesy of Erza's wardrobe – turns out she really _does_ live right next door. She'd been kind enough to lend me a shirt to change into after I'd washed up a bit.

"Hey, Levy?" Jellal shifts on his stool so that he's facing his sister.

"Yeah?" Levy turns to her left and sends her brother a questioning look. To her right Erza eats her food quietly; to Erza's right sits Natsu, and beside him is me, followed by Gray, Juvia, Jellal, and back to Levy. Gajeel seems to have disappeared after last night but I've yet to ask about him.

A secret smile hides behind Erza's twitching lips and I get the feeling she knows exactly what Jellal's going to ask; I smirk and bring an elbow up to rest on the table, thinking along the same lines as her.

And like a good little boy, Jellal doesn't disappoint. "What _was_ my first kiss like?" he asks Levy, his hazel eyes innocent and curious.

I hear Gray cough from my left as he chokes on his food. "What the hell?" he asks, his eyebrow cocked at Jellal.

"Apparently it was at the hospital," the older boy shrugs. "I want to know."

Natsu chuckles from beside me, a wide grin on his face as he runs a hand through his drying pink hair. "What's this first kiss crap about?"

"We were talking about the events of last night," Levy supplies for Natsu, a wicked grin on her lips as she sends the salmon-haired boy a suggestive look. "And somehow the conversation went from first kisses to _Jellal's_ first kiss, and brought to light the fact that he doesn't actually _remember_ said kiss."

"Sure, sure," Natsu brushes aside, completely dismissing her joke at his expense. Or maybe he just didn't notice – I wouldn't put it past him. "But what's this stuff about a hospital?" he continues, shooting the blue-haired boy a questioning look.

Jellal scrutinises Natsu for a second before taking a deep breath, looking like he's preparing to explain something he has to talk about way too often. He begins, "A couple years ago-"

"How many?" Erza cuts in before he can get five words into the story. I glance at her; her eyes are guarded, narrowed and scrutinising Jellal.

The cobalt-haired teen sends her a weird look. "I dunno, six?"

Juvia shakes her head. "It was nearly nine years ago. Juvia remembers Wendy's fifth birthday in the hospital."

I stare at Jellal, eyes accusatory. "You'd think you'd remember something like that, Jellal!"

He shoots me a sarcastic look. "Ha. _Funny_."

"I wasn't making an amnesia joke, idiot."

"Guys," Natsu whines. "Hello? Hospital?"

"Sorry, Natsu," Levy cuts over us quickly. "_Anyway_, nine years ago, Jellal got into this accident and-"

"What accident?" Erza butts in again. When Jellal frowns at Erza's continued interruptions, she blinks innocently and lifts a forkful of fruit to her mouth. Her question hangs in the air.

"Housefire," he says shortly, sounding dismissive. "Killed our parents."

Natsu lean back in his seat as a sudden hush settles in the kitchen. "_Shit_," he says lowly, his tone apologetic. "We probably shouldn't have asked-"

Juvia shakes her head, her curls bouncing. "It's okay," she insists, smiling happily at Natsu. "It was a long time ago."

I purse my lips and look down at my cereal. Even if the Loxars don't mind talking about their parents' death, _I_ do; I can tell Gray feels the same by the way his shoulders slump and his eyebrows draw together.

Levy clears her throat, trying to dispel the tense atmosphere. "Wendy was four at the time. She was caught in the fire, but-" she pauses and starts to grin "-Mr. _Hero_ here-" she pats her brother on the back, surprising him "-saved her."

Jellal glances up at the sudden contact and his gaze catches Natsu's, a painfully modest smile sneaking its way onto his face. "Juvia would have if she could, but the firemen caught her before she could re-enter the building." I don't miss Juvia's slight flinch, but before I can react to it, her facial expression smoothes over again. I bite my lip, frowning.

They're not _completely_ unaffected, after all. I guess incidents like the fire always leave scars, even if they're not visible to the human eye. No matter how well someone covers them up, there will always be at least one mark – one _change_ to their character that they can't affect, no matter how hard they try.

"But," Jellal continues, snapping me out of my thoughts. He touches the tattoo that runs across his cheek, his words unknowingly adding insult to injury as he says, "I got scars all along this side of my face – this tattoo is to hide them. Anyway," he casually changes the subject, "while I was in the hospital I accidentally got hold of some drugs that messed up my head, and-"

"That made him lose his memory," Levy interrupts, rolling her eyes. "Why he insists he has brain damage, I don't know."

I laugh along with everyone else, but as I do my gaze comes to rest on Erza. She doesn't join in with the rest of us, instead examining the sliced strawberry on her fork with an unreadable expression, lost in thought. Natsu pipes up before I have the chance to call her out on it; "But then how d'ya know you kissed some girl while you were in there? If you lost your memory, I mean."

Juvia giggles as Levy deadpans, "Because Juvia, Wendy and I walked in on it."

"What?" This is news to Jellal. He gives his older sister a flustered glance, his hazel eyes incredulous. "All _three_ of you!?"

"_And_ Grandine," Juvia corrects. "You weren't very discreet," she confesses to him. "Juvia didn't really have a choice; you _were_ standing in the very middle of an empty room, Jellal."

"Wait, wait, wait," Natsu interrupts as Jellal grimaces; the pink-haired boy has a wide smirk on his face and for the third time, I notice how unusually sharp his canines are. It makes his already boyish grin look adorable, or _impish_ even. "Start from the beginning," he insists to Levy, inadvertently deeming her the storyteller.

I smile at his enthusiasm and rest my chin on my hand, winking at my best friend. "And leave nothing out."

The petite blunette smiles back at me gleefully. "I won't, Lu-chan." Without a moment's hesitation, she launches straight into the tale; "The four of us were visiting for Wendy's birthday – it was..." She trails off, screwing her face up as she tries to remember. "Two weeks?" She looks questioningly at Jellal, who gives her a look as if to say 'you're asking me?' She shrugs and continues, "Two or so weeks after the fire."

I interrupt before Levy can continue. "The fire was on the 30th of November 2002, Levy. Do the math."

She purses her lips. "Well, Wendy was born on the 11th of December, so that's-"

"Twelve days," I interrupt again, frowning slightly. She should_ know _this_._

"Thanks, Lu-chan!" Levy beams at me, not at all affected. Gray scoffs under his breath, so quietly that only I hear. Neither of us understands the carefree attitude all the Loxars have when it comes to the _death_ of their _parents_. I know when _our_ mother-

_No, Lucy. Not now._

"Jellal was in the kids room – you know the one they keep exclusively for sick children?" Levy continues happily. "It was the one for the in-and-out cases, so it was pretty much empty at the time." Levy pauses and laughs as Jellal raises his hand like he would in a classroom. "Yes, Mr Loxar?" she says teasingly

"How do you remember all this?" he asks her, his expression somewhere between surprised and impressed. "You couldn't have been more than eight years old."

"Six," she corrects him. "I have a good memory."

"Makes up for yours, eh?" Natsu chuckles, managing to reach behind both Erza and Levy to pat the blue-haired boy on the back.

Jellal shoots him a withering look. "Ha freaking ha."

"Natsu!" Levy emphasises, "_Shush._ Let me tell the story!" I giggle despite myself when he playfully sticks his tongue out at the blunette. She smiles at him and continues, "So _anyway_, the three of us walked into the room with Grandine, right? And the ward was completely deserted except for Jellal and this one other girl-"

"What did she look like?"

"Erza!" Natsu growls before Jellal can get a word in. "Let her tell the story already!" I laugh when I realise that he's just repeated exactly what Levy said to him. So does Erza; she holds her hands up in apology, a small smile on her lips.

"No, it's okay," Levy insists. "I can't really remember, if I'm honest, Erza... I think she had blonde hair?"

Juvia nods from beside her. "Juvia remembers! Bleached blonde, with dark red roots. Juvia wondered why she'd changed it; it seemed to be such a lovely colour before..." She shakes her head as if trying to bring her attention back to the present. "Light skin, hospital gown – that's all that comes to mind. Juvia only saw her back, but she is certain the girl was Jellal's age."

If I hadn't been watching so carefully, I'd have missed the way Erza's eyes clouded over at the description. However, within a split second, they clear again and she smiles at Juvia. "Thank you, Juvia. Sorry, Levy, you continue."

Levy's hair-band slips down her forehead as she shakes her head at Erza's apology, releasing some of the messy blue strands that just don't seem to be able to lie flat. "I'm sure Jellal was wondering the same thing."

"I wondered whether she was hot or not, but hearing she was eight years old is kind of a turn off," Jellal admits. The girls around the table all scoff as Gray and Natsu both smirk and seem to share a 'guy moment' with Jellal. I roll my eyes at their wolfish grins. _Idiots_.

"Back to topic," Gray insists, failing to keep a straight face. "What happened then?"

"Is it PG?" Natsu chuckles.

"Shut it," Jellal shoots at them despite the smirk still on his lips. "Go on, Levy. So you walk in and this girl and me are in the middle of the room, and...?"

"And?" she asks innocently. "Well, it looked like _you_ were leaning down in all your hospital gowned glory and giving her a little _smooch_-" she giggles at the word "-and when we walked in, she jumped away from you, glanced back at us and then she-" She starts laughing again, harder this time. "And Jellal's just standing there, stooped down, bright red, eyes screwed shut and-"

When Levy starts cackling, Juvia sighs and takes over the story-telling, pretending that there isn't a wicked smile on her face as well. "The girl lifted her hand like she was going to stroke his face or something, and Juvia thinks this is what Jellal thought as well, but then all of a sudden she-"

"_Bam_!" Levy slams her hand on the table, her eyes screwed up as she giggles uncontrollably. "Punches Jellal right in the face!" She leans back in her stool, overcome with the force of her laughter as Jellal's stare moves from Juvia – who's also laughing though not quite as hard as her sister – to Levy, who practically has tears of mirth streaming down her cheeks.

I can't help but giggle as well, but whether it's at Jellal's misfortune or at Levy and Juvia, I don't know. From beside me, I hear Natsu hoot with laughter and Gray trying and failing to hide his amusement behind a cough.

Jellal – too shocked to be embarrassed – looks over each and every one of us laughing at him; it's only when his gaze comes to rest on Erza, who throughout the story had demurely been eating her fruit, does the blush begin to rise to his face. Erza's hiding her face with her hand, although by the shaking of her shoulders, I can tell she's laughing almost as hard as Levy is, albeit silently for Jellal's sake.

His cheeks get pinker and pinker; when Levy starts to clutch at her side, a single tear escaping her eye, my giggling intensifies to the point where it's painful. The story isn't even that funny, but just seeing the Loxar sisters lose control like this is too freaking hilarious.

"K-kiss and run," Juvia cackles, poking the hapless Jellal in the arm. "Just as well you don't remember that, Jellal!" She pauses for a shaking breath, wiping her eye with a finger. "_Wooh_! Juvia would _die_ if that had been her first kiss," she pokes him again mercilessly, her grin wide and teasing.

Jellal sighs as he shuts his eyes. My own laughter dies down to a wide smirk because no matter how hard he tries to keep his composure, we all know that his male pride and dignity are _not_ going to stay intact quite so easily. "I..." he starts, struggling with something to say. Giving up, he rests his head in his hands. "I don't quite know what to say," he mumbles eventually.

Natsu leans forward and pats Jellal's bowed head with a wry grin. "You'll get over it, buddy... Shouldn't be too hard," he adds on, "considering you've already forgotten about it." He proceeds to cackle at his crappy joke, and to my surprise, Gray joins in. So they _can_ get along about _something_, at least...

"You know my memory's not _permanently_ gone," Jellal whines grumpily. "You can stop with the amnesia jokes."

Pity it's only over making fun of Jellal.

"We only just started!" Natsu defends himself. "That's not fair; these guys have had years, I only met you today."

"Yesterday," Gray corrects.

"Shut up," Natsu retorts.

Gray and Natsu start to bicker behind me; I lean forward so as not to interrupt, already feeling used to it for some reason. The rest of us tuck back into our cereal, fruit and toast, wide grins on everyone but Jellal's face – his cheeks are still rather red.

Aw, the poor guy. I bet he didn't expect to be so mortified when he first asked Levy to tell him about it. I smile into my food; she was unusually cruel in the telling of it, too. Well, unusually cruel for _Levy_. We _are_ talking about the girl who gets upset when someone folds the corner of a page instead of using a bookmark. She's the sweetest girl I know _most_ of the time.

The thought sparks a chain reaction in my mind, and I find myself turning to ask Erza, "Where's Gajeel, by the way?"

"Oh, he's downstairs," she elaborates for me, her scarlet bangs falling over an eye as she looks up. "Left as soon as he woke up. Something about wanting to start work on a truck as soon as possible?"

"Pantherlily," I confirm. "I kind of remember it breaking down." I shake my head at the fuzzy memory. "I'm not surprised; it breaks down every other day, stupid thing."

"If there's anyone who can fix it, it's Gajeel," she smiles at me reassuringly, brushing the hair from her face. "He's been in the garage all morning."

"Garage?" I raise an eyebrow and look around the kitchen/living-room as if the walls might hold some clues. "Hey, Erza... Where exactly _are_ we?"

She gives me a weird look. "Natsu's apartment...?"

"Yeah, no, I know," I backtrack, "I mean, where is _this_?" I gesture around me with flailing arms. "Like, are we still in Magnolia, or...?" I blink at her, clueless. "I was unconscious when you got here, remember?"

Understanding dawns on her. "Oh, of course! Sorry. Yes. _This_," she says in a grand voice, "is Fairy Tail."

She goes back to her food as if this explains everything. "I-... Uh..." I glance around hopefully; maybe someone else can explain. "Gray," I interrupt the two boys' bickering; my brother gives me a questioning look. "Where are we?"

"I, uh... Fairy Tail?" he supplies uselessly.

"Yeah, that tells me nothing," I deadpan.

He shrugs happily. "Then I dunno."

I blink at him. _How am I related to this idiot?_ "In all the time you've been here, it didn't occur to you once to ask someone where we were!?"

Gray raises an eyebrow. "No. Does it matter?"

"_Yes_!"

"More importantly," Gray insists, completely dismissing what I was saying, "how do you feel?"

"What?" I tilt my head, confused at the random question. I roll my eyes when he raises his hand to rest on his chest over his heart with a concerned expression, realising what he's referring to. "I'm fine, Gray."

"Are you sure?"

"_Yes_. Stop asking."

"I only asked once!"

"Twice."

"No, I di-"

"Yes, you did. In Natsu's room."

His voice takes on an exasperated tone. "Is it so bad that I'm worried about my sister?"

"It's bad that you're worrying over something so stupid. I'm not so sick that I'm about to drop to the floor and – I don't know – have a _heart_ _atta_-" I cut off when I realise from his expression that I've just voiced his thoughts. My temper spikes and I take a deep breath to reign it in. "I'm _fine_, Gray. Drop it already."

He just scowls lightly and looks down at his empty plate. I roll my eyes with a sigh, also returning my gaze to my half-finished food. Leave it to Gray to worry unnecessarily. I mean, one little bump on the head and he thinks I'll have a _seizure_ or something. How the hell would a head injury affect my heart? _And_ I'm not even that sick anymore _anyway_, for crying out loud! I pout, stirring the spoon in the soggy cereal dejectedly. Stupid over-protective idiot.

"What's wrong with you?"

I start out my thoughts and look up; Natsu's eyeing me, eyebrows drawn together in a frown. I immediately bristle; "I'm _fine_! Will people stop fussing over me!?"

My voice is too loud, and the rest of the teenagers in the kitchen glance at me before resuming their conversations. I bite my lip and grin uneasily to Natsu. "Sorry. Sore head."

He shakes his head as if it's a non-issue, unperturbed. "Whatever. You just looked like you were thinking about something."

"Sorr-"

"Why do you keep apologising?" The pink-haired boy gives shoots me an easy grin. "Quit it already."

His smile is infectious. "Sor-" My eyes widen and I cover my mouth with a hand. He chuckles when I do. "Force of habit, I guess..." I mumble.

He looks at me for a second with an unreadable expression and I try not to squirm uncomfortably; those damn charcoal eyes are _unnerving_. Finally, he remarks, "You're weird."

How am I supposed to respond to _that_? As I'm scrambling for an answer, inspiration hits me. "Hey, _you_ must know where we are!" I sit up straight, suddenly eager. "What the hell is Fairy Tail?" He gives me a look akin to the one Erza gave me when I asked her, and I grumble, "As far as I know, it's another name for a bedtime story, Natsu."

His answering laugh causes me to scowl at him. It just makes his grin wider. "All of this," he explains, his slanted charcoal eyes darting around the walls of the kitchen/living room, "is Fairy Tail. We're in the apartment complex of Fairy Tail – _well_, I say complex, it's really just two buildings; this one, and another one across the road called Fairy Hills, and that one's only for like, housing and stuff-"

"Wait, wait, wait, wait," I interrupt as I try to process the new information. "Then what's _this_ one for?"

"Oh, yeah! I forgot you were doing that whole Sleeping Beauty act when we got here-"

"_Act_?" I growl, frustrated. "For your information, I was _unconscious_!"

"Whatever you say, princess," he brushes it aside. I sigh but don't interrupt as he continues, "There's a- a _bar_, I guess, beneath us on the ground floor. We're on the first floor; Erza's apartment is just across the hall and yeah, on and on, but anyway-"

He pauses as he gulps his orange juice; I rest my chin in my hand again, crossing my legs to sit more comfortably. Natsu's got this way of talking that kind of... addictive, I guess? It's like he's really passionate about what he's talking about, and it's so _nice_ to see someone talk as openly as he is. At home, no-one ever sounds like they care so much about... about anything, really. That's why Gray and I are so often accused of apathy; we were raised to show restraint.

I can't help the smile on my face as he sets the empty glass and looks back at me enthusiastically, ready to resume his explanation; he runs a hand through his unusual hair as he continues, "Anyway, the bar. Okay, so Fairy Tail's what you see when you first come in, right? You saw all that, but there's also-..." A confused smile finds its way to his mouth, amusement in his eyes. "Why are you shaking your head?"

"I was passed out, _remember_?"

"Oh, yeah, of course!" He gently taps his forehead with his palm. "Sorry, keep forgetting. Fairy Tail's the name of- well, basically it's a bar where you can drink and hang out and stuff. Well, no, not _basically_, that's actually what it is-" he laughs openly "-and Makarov's hired a bunch of people who take work and-"

"Natsu!" I interrupt, smiling despite myself just at the abundance of _energy_ he _exudes_. "Who's Makarov?"

"Master?" Natsu ruffles his spiky hair again. "He owns Fairy Tail. Well, co-owns but really, he's the owner- Actually, he _does_ still own Fairy Tail, I _guess_-"

"Get to the point, Natsu," I smirk, already used to his scattered way of talking.

"Right, sorry," he beams. Does this guy ever stop smiling? I kind of hope he doesn't; his grin is so endearing (and cute but let's not mention that). "In all rights and stuff, Master _is_ the owner but a couple months ago – seven, I think? – we had some trouble with, uh..." He scratches the back of his head sheepishly. "Basically, Macao got fired and he needed a job, so Master offered him co-ownership of the bar-"

"Wait, wait, _wait_ a second!" I interrupt for the umpteenth time. "Who's Macao?"

"Oh, he's my adoptive dad." He says it so offhandedly that I have to look twice to make sure I heard him right. Natsu's adopted?

"O-okay?" I don't have the chance to say anything further; the boy's off again, rambling on and on at a hundred miles an minute. I take a sip of water as he complains about the newest worker 'Master' Makarov has hired for the bar, his fiery words emphasised with (adorably) exaggerated facial expressions.

For the first time in a long time, I can't stop smiling; Natsu's enthusiasm is catching, and God knows a little more positive energy in my life couldn't go amiss.

"But it's okay," he continues, barely stopping for breath as he catches my wide gaze with his own, "because Mira'll kick the new kid into shape one way or another. Either that or it's sayonara, Fairy Tail." He chuckles to himself. "To be honest, I feel sorry for 'em. Mirajane's really sweet but damn, she can be _terrifying_ if she wants to be. I'm not kidding, she..." He pauses, looking like he's reliving a memory. Suddenly, he shivers, and throws me an alarmed look. "She's a demon in disguise, I'm telling you. You know, this one time some dude was gonna perform – you know, sing and stuff – and Mira-"

Natsu stops mid-sentence, his mouth snapping shut as his eyes widen comically, resembling saucers; he stares at something behind me and before I can turn around, a furious voice snaps, "What are _you_ doing here!?"

The conversation in the kitchen silences instantly; I turn around with everyone else to see two new figures standing in the doorway, one of whom is glaring at us so fiercely that terror settles in the room like a blanket.

My stomach drops and I gulp. _Just when things were going well.._.

* * *

**AN: **The truth? I... don't really like this chapter. D; I just- the-... hmmm. So, I'm going to be focusing on character development _a lot_ - I love reading character-centric fics, and love writing them even more. However, writing characters _before_ their development... *cringe* Not that fun. The only way I got around that was by mentally chanting '_it gets better_' as I wrote it. As you can guess, this was a chapter that I had to write while suffering from mild writer's block. (Well, I saymild, but that's me looking back. At the time, I was prepared to curl up and grump the day away.)  
Do you like it more than I do? Or are you of the same opinion that I am? What did you think of the characters - especially Natsu, Lucy and Erza - I dare to ask? o.o So much is going to change OOOHH _just you wait_. (; You guys have got so much to look forward to. Please let me know your thoughts if you have the time; any constructive criticism is also highly appreciated! **I respond to every review with a teaser for the next chapter.**

(And for any of you kind enough to care, _yes_, Dubai was absolutely _brilliant_.)

And by the way, if you _do_ plan on reviewing, please let me know which characters you're most looking forward to meeting! In the next couple chapters, I plan to introduce you to a whole _bunch_ of familiar faces, and it would be awesome to hear your thoughts. n.n (Yes, I plan to include as many characters from the cannon as I possibly can. So I'm a fangirl - _sue me_.)

* * *

Next time in _Fairies, Misfits & Little Brats_, we have **7: Hurricane Wendy**!


	7. Hurricane Wendy

**AN:** *attempting to keep it brief*  
**1)** Yeah, I suck. I'm sorry it took me _two months_ to create this stupid chapter.  
**2)** I've been really busy, and will continue to be so, but I will be trying _my best_ to keep the updates regular. Fingers crossed it'll never take this long again to update. *o*  
**3)** I got the best reviews _ever_ for Chapter 6, and they were just gah they were perfect. Thank you _so much_, and please keep reviewing - you have no idea how happy they make me, even if they're short. I love hearing from you guys - _honestly_!  
**4)** On you go. I hope you like it. *nervous*

* * *

_**Fairies, Misfits & Little Brats**_ by Amenah

**7 - Hurricane Wendy  
**

* * *

_5__th__ June 2012_

The taller of the two is a young teenage boy with spiky black hair sticking up in all directions – if it weren't for the difference in length and colour, I'd say it resembled Natsu's mess of pink. The kid's bangs hood his dark eyes; his expression is uninterested, like he's bored to be here. He's sporting ripped jeans and a dark green t-shirt, and despite the fact that he can't be more than five feet tall, he's lean.

Beside him stands a much shorter, _much_ older man dressed in an eccentric orange-and-blue outfit. Small tufts of white hair stick out from under his ridiculous striped hat, matching his monster of a moustache. His crazy attire, coupled with his gnome-like presence, would have had me giggling were it not for the _enraged_ look on his face.

His black eyes are glued to Natsu, his face pulled back in a ferocious scowl. Natsu cowers into his chair soundlessly. The tiny man's glare shifts to Erza, who seems to have frozen in her position. Her eyes are wide, her expression a mix between wariness and... guilt? I don't know what to make of their reactions to him, but I have a feeling there's more to the tiny stranger than meets the eye.

"Would either of you care to explain," the elderly man growls, "why exactly you're up here, and not helping Mira?"

Natsu curses under his breath. I glance from him to Erza again, confused. Both the boy and the old man act as if only Erza and Natsu are in the room – I don't know whether to be thankful or offended.

The old man's eyes narrow further. "How exactly do _you_ think I should react when I see the both of you _relaxing_? Natsu? Erza?" They both flinch when he says their names.

Erza clears her throat nervously. "I've finished my work already?" she offers uncertainly.

He scrutinises the scarlet-haired girl for a moment before his gaze whips to the Natsu. "And you, boy?"

The pink-haired teen opens his mouth and closes it again, seeming lost for words.

"Actually, I've already done the work for you, Natsu-nii." The dark-haired boy standing beside the dwarf finally enters the conversation. All eyes turn to him and he just blinks down at the old man, his expression blank. "I knew he was busy," he defends himself half-heartedly.

"Wait, what?" Erza suddenly pipes up. "You what?" She turns to Natsu. "He what?" Glancing back at the young teen, she yells, "_You what_!?"

Before anyone can react, she's out of her chair and pulling a helpless Natsu out of his.

"How _dare_ you make your little brother do your dirty work! You stupid lazy ignorant idiot! You _moron_!" She continues to heatedly apprehend him as she drags him towards the door; the black-haired boy and the old man sidestep to give her room. I hear the sound of what I'm guessing is the front door open and close. Her furious voice is still audible after the click. "Did you really think you could get away with that? What kind of big brother _are_ you!?" No-one moves until Erza's wrath – "You need to learn a lesson in responsibility! Set a better example!" – trails out of earshot.

An uncomfortable silence settles in the kitchen.

"Well, nice to meet you all!" My eyes snap back to the old man still standing in the doorway. His previous irritation is replaced by a calm smile. He glances around the room, taking in our bewildered expressions. "And welcome to Fairy Tail." With that, he turns and follows the path Erza and Natsu took out of the room and I hear the front door click shut again.

I glance around the table anxiously; everyone has a similar expression of confusion. Levy catches my eye with a raised eyebrow, and I shrug, nonplussed.

"Uh..." The dark-haired boy finally looks directly at us. "Who are you?" He walks towards the granite table, flipping his hair out of his eyes absent-mindedly. "And why are you in my house?"

"Um," Gray starts.

"Well, we, uh..." I continue. "We're like- uhh..."

"Hi," Jellal says awkwardly.

The boy stands behind Natsu's empty stool, splaying his hands out on the table in front of him. He turns and stares at me blankly – I meet his gaze, not sure what to make of his scrutiny. Eventually, he shrugs lazily and asks, "You Natsu's friends?"

I breathe out a quiet sigh of relief. "Yeah, we-"

"_Hell no_!" Gray interrupts fiercely.

"Ignore him," I quickly cover up. "Natsu said we could stay the night. I'm Lucy." I smile at the young teenager, decidedly ignoring my fuming brother.

The suspicion leaves his eyes but he still doesn't smile. "I'm Romeo. Romeo Conbolt." He looks around slowly as he says this, taking in all of our faces. "If Natsu said it was cool, Dad'll be fine with it. Stay as long as you want," he finishes, his gaze coming to rest on Levy.

She gives him a nervous smile. "Thanks, but, um- We should probably get home soon anyway, we have people waiting for us."

Juvia nods and adds, "Wendy and Grandine will get worrie-" She cuts off suddenly, her eyes widening in realisation. "Wendy... will be _worried_..."

_Crap_.

I completely forgot about her! And from the looks on everyone else's faces, they had as well. Dread settles in my stomach as a mixture of worry and guilt churns in my gut; memories of the last time sweet little Wendy was worried haunt my thoughts and I gulp, anxiously shaking my head to dispel the sudden distress.

"Well, shit," Gray mumbles, voicing everyone's thoughts. "W-We should probably- aw, _shit_." He proceeds to bury his face in his hands.

Juvia gets up shakily. "J-Juvia will call Wendy...

"If she's left the telephone intact..." Jellal mumbles as his sister leaves the table.

She walks out of the room in a daze, her cerulean curls swinging behind her back. The rest of us stay seated, looking depressed. I don't think I could move if I wanted to. Guilt – or maybe its fear – roots me to the spot. Poor Wendy. Or no, poor _house_. Poor... poor _us_ when Grandine gets her hands on us.

"Jeez, what's wrong with you lot?" From my peripheral vision I see Romeo hop into Natsu's recently-vacated stool, glancing around with inattentive eyes.

Levy re-adjusts her hair-band, shooting him a troubled look. "My sister, Wendy, must be so worried right now. No-one thought to call her and let her know where we were for the night..."

Romeo stares at her. "Well, how old is she?"

The blunette gives a tiny flinch. "Thirteen."

To my surprise, Romeo snorts dismissively – it's the most expression he's shown since he entered the room. "Pfft. I'm sure she can take of herself. And no offense, but what's your name?"

"No, no, it's fine. I'm Levy. And uh, that's Jellal – my older brother – and Gray, Lucy's twin." She points to them in turn. "And to be honest, it's not really her we're worried about..."

"Whenever Wendy gets worried, she... she goes _crazy_," Jellal explains, his hazel eyes narrowed as he frowns.

Gray gives Romeo a dark look when the boy opens his mouth to argue. "We aren't joking, kid. It's like a- a _hurricane's_ been through the house."

"Wait, seriously?" Romeo's bored expression suddenly falls away to be replaced by apprehensiveness. His eyebrows meet in a light frown, scepticism still etched in his eyes.

I nod dumbly in reply, my gaze falling to the kitchen table. "A-And she gets worried a _lot_."

"You guys have got to be over-exaggerating," Romeo says uncertainly. "I mean, she's just a thirteen year old gir-"

"You didn't see it last time," Levy cuts him off in a quiet murmur. "She broke the car."

I cringe, remembering her tears as she held Pantherlily's crooked bonnet in her hands, having wrenched it right off in an effort to help Jellal fix the engine last time it broke down. "That was _awful_."

Romeo's eyes are wide as he stares at me. "Jesus, what's this girl like?" He scans the kitchen, taking in everyone's morbid expressions. "Hell, I can't even tell if you're worried about _her_ or for what's in her _path_..."

When I look up at him, I'm struck by how different he looks when he loses his mask of disinterest; the bangs have slipped back to reveal more of his dark eyes, which are round and expressive. His pale cheeks are coloured with a very light flush as he nervously purses his lips. All of a sudden, it strikes me that his expression resembles that of Natsu – even though they're not related, they look kind of similar!

"Not to change the subject or anything," I say quickly, "but Romeo, how old are you?"

He flashes me a confused look – now that I can see his eyes properly, it's striking how expressive they really are. "Fourteen. Why?"

Before I have a chance to answer, everyone's attention is reverted to the doorway; Juvia re-enters the room, looking shaken. "They are, um... They're coming here."

The effect of her words is sudden and instantaneous. Jellal jumps up from his stool, his expression alarmed; Levy claps her hands over her mouth; Gray lowers his head to the table with a groan.

"Grandine's going to kill us," I mumble, wincing as I think of all the horrible punishments she'll have lined up.

"Uh... Who are you?" Romeo asks Juvia, looking more confused than ever.

"Hello," Juvia gives him a wan smile. "Juvia is thankful to you for letting her friends stay here last night."

I watch Romeo carefully – whenever Juvia introduces herself, people always react to her way of talking. I _hate_ that; not only is it rude, but it's unnecessary as well. To my surprise, Romeo doesn't react to it at all. "Nice to meet you," he says pleasantly. "Anyway, Juvia – how do they know where this place even is?"

Juvia shakes her head as if she was expecting the question. "Juvia asked the same thing. Grandine was on her way here already – it's just freaky coincidence that _we_ ended up here, too. Apparently, she knows someone called Maracob?"

For the first time since I've met him, Romeo smiles – actually, he _laughs_, and even though it's a quiet sort of chuckle, I find myself fighting the urge to get up and squeeze him in a hug. Who'd have thought he'd be so _adorable_ when he smiled!?

He gestures for Juvia to sit down. "Not Maracob, _Makarov_. Ma-ka-rov."

"Sorry," I butt in, "but _who's_ Marakov?" The name's familiar but I can't place it...

He shakes his head again, the soft smile still playing on his lips. "Ma-_ka_-rov. It's Russian, I think? He's the mast- Uh, the, uh, landlord here," he corrects himself. "He was just in here a second ago."

"Wait, what?" I stare at him incredulously. So _that's_ who Natsu had been talking about? "That 3 feet guy!? Are you kidding!?"

Romeo snorts. "Nope, that's him. This Grandine chick knows him, huh?"

Levy nods and brushes a few stray strands of her blue hair from her face. "That's what she said on the phone, right?"

Juvia – who is once again sitting beside Gray – nods, her chin resting in her hand. "That's all she said before hanging up on Juvia." She closes her eyes, frowning. "She sounded angry."

"Is that a bad thing?" Romeo asks curiously. "I mean, is she scary like Wendy or...?"

I laugh, albeit a little nervously. "Wendy's not _scary_, she's actually a total sweetheart. Just... Just don't get her anxious, and you'll be fine. But trust me when I saw you _never_ want to meet Porlyusica Grandine when she's in a bad mood."

Romeo reacts to what I said a bit more dramatically than I'd expected – he physically pales, his eyes widening again. "P-Porlyusica?"

Juvia grimaces, not questioning Romeo's interest. "Yes."

"Why?" I ask, taken aback by his alarmed tone. "Do you know her?"

He answers my question with another question. "Pink hair Porlyusica?"

Juvia nods mutely in reply; she then rests her head on the table as if she's got a headache. "She's _really_ angry."

Romeo gulps nervously.

"Romeo," I whine, "how do you know her? Don't just ignore me!"

"Ah, um, she-" he mumbles brokenly. "She takes care of the master's health. That'll be why she was on her way here already, huh? I can't remember a Monday when she wasn't around."

From beside me, I hear Gray moan, "I still have the bump from last week when she hit me with that damn broom." He rubs his head gently. "She's got some strange medicinal practices, huh?"

Everyone around the granite table grimaces as they remember some past injury Grandine's given them – even Romeo, I'm surprised to note.

"Juvia." I turn to her. "Did she say how far away she was? Is she bringing Wendy?"

No sooner have I finished my sentence does the door fly open to reveal the tiny old man – Makarov – with a tall, severe-looking woman standing behind him. My gaze runs from her pink hair – which is tied back with two crescent styled pins in an immaculate bun, excusing the choppy hair that frames her face – down to her practical brown shoes – immaculately polished and as pointy as ever – and it's impossible to mistake who she is.

Grandine is here.

She doesn't hesitate to storm into the room. Her fury is palpable – her stomping could cause an earthquake, her glare could curdle dairy. She goes straight for the unfortunate soul closest to the door, who, in this instance, happens to be Levy.

The poor girl shrinks into her seat as the pink-haired woman comes to loom over her hunched figure. Grandine's statement cape, a crimson affair with horns adorning the collar, billows behind her in a breeze that she seems to have created with her entrance.

She leans in close to Levy, who I can tell is fighting to hold back a whimper. She cowers away as Grandine comes to face level with her. She opens her mouth and says in a cool voice crackling with anger, "How _dare_ you make me come here."

Levy squeaks.

I swear I see sparks fly from Grandine's eyes as her gaze slips to Juvia. "No apology?"

Juvia stammers, "J-Juvia is sorry..."

The aged woman's maroon eyes find Jellal. "Explain."

He clears his throat in an attempt to seem put-together. "W-Well, we- You see, last night, uh... Pantherlily kind of... died." He coughs. "...Again."

Grandine's temple twitches as she hears the news.

I cringe, knowing what's coming next, and unsurprisingly, not two seconds later, she explodes.

"Beds empty! No note! _Car gone_! You stupid, stuipd children! I say time and again – don't I say it? – I say _time and time again_ to get that damn car replaced, but do you listen to me!?" Her icy stare finds Jellal. "_No_! You make me come all the way out here – to _Magnolia_," she yells, turning to a wide-eyed Juvia, "to pick up you up; do _you_ know how expensive it is to drive here from Hargeon? Oh, _no_, of _course_ you don't, because _I'm _the one who's paying every time you lot decide that it's a good idea to take a trip in that rust-bucket!" All of a sudden, she whips round and focuses on Levy, pointing a warning finger right in front of the blunette's face. "You _know_ how irritating people are! How _dare_ you make me come all the way out here! _Why_ I decided to take you lot in, I don't know – there should be a plaque on my grave with just 'blame the Loxars' written on it. You're gonna lead me to an early grave, I'm telling you now. All this exposure to humans, it's going to be the death of me – and _you three_ are to blame! You're the worst of the lot, you are, you stupid, _stupid_ children! You remind me every day why I hate humans so much; such a race of simpletons, so reckless and selfish..." Taking a second to catch her breath, Grandine closes her eyes and sighs before snapping her eyes open and hissing, _"Do you have any idea how worried I was_!? You didn't even think to _call_!"

She finishes her lecture with an anguished sigh, pretty much collapsing into the stool that Erza had vacated. "For all I'd known, you could have _died_ last night," she mumbles into her palm. "_Please_, you imbecilic little brats, _learn_ to _think_."

God, please let a hole open up in the ground and just swallow me up.

Right now, the guilt could kill me, and she's not even _my_ surrogate mother. One glance at the self-disgust on the faces of Levy, Jellal and Juvia is enough to tell me that they're kicking themselves right now. Even Gray looks like he feels a little sick.

A quiet '_achem'_ from somewhere near my right arm causes me to look down; Master Makarov clears his throat politely, looking very interested in his hands.

"Um..." I'm clueless as to what he wants me to do, but Romeo obviously understands; he hops off his seat and holds out a hand to the tiny man. Makarov grasps it and uses it as leverage to _clamber_ onto the stool. In any other situation I'd have giggled, but the awful remorse Grandine's lecture created is still fresh.

"Not to change the subject or anything," he says loudly, capturing everyone's attention, "but which one of you is Lucy?"

My eyebrows rise in surprise. "Me?"

His smiling dark eyes find mine. "The other girl is just getting some stuff from the car for you. She said she wanted to get all of your medicines."

My eyes widen in shock. _What's Wendy thinking_!? "N-No, no, no, it- She- You've got it wrong, I don't- I'm fine, I don't- I-..." Romeo and Makarov watch me with a wondering expression; I glimpse Gray scowling in my peripheral vision. "I'm fine, damn it! I don't _need_ any medicine! She- Hold on, I'll go stop her, she- Damn it, Wendy!"

Without a second thought, I jump out my chair and make out of the room. However, before I'm even halfway across the kitchen, Wendy herself rushes through the door.

Well, more like trips into it.

She lands on the floor with a muffled '_oof'_ and we all stare as she lays there for a moment. Her dark blue hair – up in the usual bunches and tied with two white ribbons to match her summer dress – is splayed around her head, the contents of the bags she'd brought with her scattered across the floor. I can see first aid kits, bandages, boxes of medicine and who knows what else; it's like the girl's a mini portable hospital.

"Oh, really," Grandine rolls her eyes, still mumbling into her hand. "The lot of you are _hopeless_."

Wendy raises her face slowly, her eyes squeezed shut and her expression sheepish behind pink cheeks; her long hair swishes around her waist as she kneels and scrambles to stuff everything back into the plastic bags. Romeo eagerly gets on his knees to help her.

"Ah, um, thank you," she mumbles, not making eye contact with him as he hands her a couple stacks of eye-drop boxes. He sits back in his stool wordlessly, his eyes glued to her face.

Wendy gets up and glances at her siblings anxiously. Once her gaze finds mine, she jolts forward, her brown eyes wide and worried. "Lucy! Are you alright? Who hurt you? I'll avenge you, just you tell me!" She shakes her head vehemently; her cute bunches swing around her head as she does so, completely negating the effect of her fierce words.

I laugh nervously, reaching out to tuck a stray strand of her hair behind her ear. "Don't worry about it, Wendy..."

Romeo suddenly shouts, "_Wendy_!?" Both of us jump and stare at the boy, who's seemingly transfixed by the youngest Loxar. "_You're_ Wendy!?"

She nods timidly, her eyes wide and confused. "Umm... Hello..." she mumbles, her previous gusto disappearing as she shuffles her feet to shield half of her body behind me. "How do you... know me?"

Romeo just watches her with round eyes, his mouth hanging open and a noticeable pink rising up his cheeks. "I, uh-..." He blinks at her again. "I thought you'd be... a little less... different..." He visibly gulps, his gaze wide and unwavering.

"I-I'm sorry!" Wendy apologises hastily. What's she even apologising for?

Romeo ignores her, instead turning to Gray. "You said she was supposed to be like a hurricane!"

Gray shrugs, bemused. "I did, didn't I? Maybe a _meek_ hurricane."

Wendy adopts an expression of horror as Romeo stammers, "M-meek..."

"I-I'm not meek! I'm strong! I'm- I'm... I'm..." she trails off, not sure what she wants to say as she wrings her hands uncomfortably.

"Wendy, do you want to take a look at Lucy?" Jellal intervenes kindly, breaking what could have become a very awkward silence. He's very over-protective of Wendy – I'm not surprised he wouldn't want to see her squirm.

Well, would anyone? Her adorable innocence has left even the worst personalities at her mercy.

"Yes!" she says straight away, her nervous expression falling away to be replaced with a grin directed at her brother. "Lucy, I brought all of your medicines!"

Before I can argue – because never have I used eye-drops in my _life_ – Gray gets up and grabs my arm. "Come on, Wendy," he urges her, starting to drag me from the living room. "You can check her over in the bedroom."

"Gray!"I start pulling against his grip. "I really don't need-" Without hesitation, Wendy starts helping Gray push me towards the door. "Guys, seriously, I'm fine! Stop, wait!" I struggle against them but with Wendy pushing and Gray pulling, I can't do really do anything but complain loudly as they drag me out into the hall.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spy Makarov and the Loxars watching us with an amused expression; Grandine still seems to be sulking – as usual – and a heavily blushing Romeo is staring in our direction – or more accurately, at _Wendy_ – with his mouth hanging open, his eyes glazes over, and his expression flustered.

Just before I'm out the door, I hear Jellal murmur to Romeo, "Shut your mouth, you'll catch flies."

Wait, it can't be-... Has Romeo fallen for Wendy!? I forget to fight against my captors as thoughts of young love fly through my mind. He's only one year older than Wendy, and he seems to be a nice kid; they could be so perfect together! Aw, it's so _cute_! Wendy's shyness mixed with Romeo's flustered reactions – I can already see it, they'll be the cutest couple to ever grace Fiore!

My thought process is halted by Wendy and Gray shoving me onto a bed. Looking around, I realise they've dragged me back into Natsu's bedroom.

Wendy stands over me, her posture intimidating. Her usual sweetness is replaced with a fiery determination, and in my mind, I can see her resorting to extreme measures to ensure I 'recover'. She flips her dark blue bangs out her face impatiently while watching me, eyes steely. "I have to check your head and heart," she explains sternly as she tightens one of the white ribbons in her hair. "Please sit still, Lucy. This won't take long."

In that split second, I switch from rejoicing for Romeo's new found crush to pitying him.

Poor confused Romeo – he has no idea what he's getting himself into.

* * *

**AN: **Yes, that _was_ a Harry Potter reference. (teehee~)  
So you've got Grandine, Makarov, Romeo and adorable little Wendy. Oh my gosh the rowen you guys have waiting for you just *squeal* I can't wait to write it. It's gonna be _awesome_.  
...Nah, I'm not a huge fan of this chapter. I wonder if you guys can tell when I have trouble writing stuff and when it just flows - this was a really difficult one for me. I just couldn't find the right words, you know? Please let me know your thoughts if you have the time; any constructive criticism is also highly appreciated! **I respond to every review with a teaser for the next chapter.**

Anyway, I'll go do my homework now so I can make time to include lots of nalu-y goodness in the next chapter. I hope you guys don't hate me too much. *sob*

* * *

Next time in _Fairies, Misfits & Little Brats_, we have **8: Holy Heartfilia**!


End file.
